


In a week

by samwhambam



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Dirty Talk, F/F, Making Out, Slow Burn, Talk about death, a tumblr prompt i found, katya's a florist, more to be added - Freeform, there's fondling starting in chapter 9, trixie works at a tattoo shop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2019-07-10 07:46:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 40,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15944912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samwhambam/pseuds/samwhambam
Summary: prompt i saw on tumblr: "imagine your OTP in a florist/tattoo artist AU. imagine who is obviously which one and then switch them"Katya is opening a new flower shop next door to a tattoo parlor. Each day she sees a mystery blonde walking past her shop. Eventually their paths meet and intersect as they begin to get to know each other.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Hope you all enjoy this new fic! I was supposed to post on Friday, but I spent all of Wednesday and Thursday stuck on the last little bit. The first chapter is just a lot of set up, so follow me on this journey as I try to pull my shit together and make this decent!

Katya’s love for flowers was slow starting. She remembers being 8 and hearing her mother joke with her friends about how useless of a gift flowers were.

“They’re just going to die! They’re going to wilt and fall apart and then what do you have? A dirty vase!” She had exclaimed.

And then Katya realized the truth to her words. She hid that thought away, thinking about how when she had a husband, she didn’t want to receive wilting flowers as a gift. How strange to be gifted something that was already dead! She wanted her husband to bring her home chocolate just like her father brought her mother. She bounded up the stairs, pulling a book from her shelf to read. Still scoffing at the idea of flowers as a gift.

Then she turned 13 and she still thought the idea of flowers was stupid. This time, she wanted her wife to bring her books. She had never been the same after her birthday and Easter had fallen on the same weekend. That was a chocolate induced stomach ache that almost seemed worse than having a husband.

Katya was 17 when her grandmother died. Before her death, she had insisted on there being flowers at her funeral.

“Yekaterina, your mother is going to insist on a simple funeral. That’s fine. I don’t care what I’m wearing, or what I’m buried in. But I want to be surrounded by flowers. All kinds. Lots of them. I want my rotted corpse to be surrounded by beauty,” She had said with a small smile and a dreamy glint in her eyes. “Especially peonies. Those little bulbs of beauty are my favorite.”

“You want your dead body to be surrounded by dead plants?” Katya had deadpanned.

Her grandmother smiled, taking her right hand in both of her shaky ones.

“They might be dead but they’re so much more beautiful than most living things on earth. No one can live forever, why should we expect flowers to? I’m surprised, you’ve always been into the macabre, Katya. Found the beauty in it. Yet you don’t see the beauty in flowers? Just because they’re not dark?” Her grandmother laughed, then grimaced, repositioning her body on the couch into a more comfortable position. “Don’t let your mother brainwash you. Give me the damn flowers.”

A week later Katya sat in the front row of the church, tuning out the monotone of the Russian Orthodox priest. She stared straight ahead at the closed casket. The dark sleek of the casket was overshadowed by the bunches of flowers laid on top. Her mother had found a florist who created a runner for the top of the casket, peonies that were pressed so close together that it would be impossible to count all of them. Vases of flowers lined the altar, an arch had been created to halo the casket and it took Katya’s breath away.

It was colorful. A mess of random flowers that were fitted together to create beautiful arrangements that Katya wished her grandmother could see. She had asked to be surrounded by beautiful flowers and surrounded she was. Most of the flowers were taken to the gravesite and left until they were too wilted to be recognized. Some were taken back to Katya’s house and dried to be kept as a last connection to the matriarch of their family.

At 17, she couldn’t name most of the flowers that were present at the funeral. All she knew was that the image in front of her was one of the most beautiful she had ever seen. In front of her was a tangible, temporary beauty, but it was imprinted on her mind and it would last as long as she did. An immortal tribute to her grandmother.

At 36, she could name them all, could remember the color and the arrangements they were placed in. She could tell you if they were in season at the time of the funeral and how much that whole scene would cost today.

She had worked in multiple floral shops since high school, opening her own when she turned 27. Nine years later and they had bought a bigger shop to move into. Business was booming, going beyond selling single bouquets of flowers. They were providing arrangements for all sorts of parties, different events. The weddings were never ending and Katya enjoyed working on each one.

But now Katya was proofing all the blueprints for their new shop, signing off on invoices while still trying to provide the impeccable service she had become known for. She was constantly going between the two shops, doing floral business still at the old one and meeting with contractors and interior designers at the new.

“This is so expensive,” Katya sighed as she shuffled through another set of invoices. The numbers blurred as she flipped back to the first page. “Where’s the write up of the savings report for the Whirlpools?”

A paper was flung at her, which Katya slid closer to her as her eyes went between the two papers. Most of the cosmetic infrastructure of the new shop had already been stripped away and Ginger had set up a flimsy card table for their use in the meantime.

Ginger was her business partner, the woman that kept her head on straight at work. Made sure that Katya was being levelheaded and had control over the business. Katya was sure she owed her more than her life. 

“We already decided on the fridge. We know what we want. We also already decided on everything else,” Ginger gave Katya a few more seconds of over analyzing the notes from the contractor before she snatched them back. “We just have to send in the word that we’re ready for them to start.”

“I just feel like something isn’t right,” Katya grabbed for her planner at the edge of the table. 

In a fit of anxiety, she had created more to-do lists than she could manage. She ran a finger over all the checked off boxes, reminding herself that they were in the homestretch. She just had to see the progress that they had made. All that was left to do was give the contractor the green light and they could start. The checks were printed, they just had to be signed and handed over. Katya had thought that this would bring a sense of relief, but her stress was replaced with another round of anxiety.

What if it ended up looking horrible? What if they didn’t have enough room for the flowers? What if their company grew even more than expected and they ran out of space quickly? Did they decide on enough refrigerators? Were the shelves in the fridge big enough? They had done the math so many times, triple checking their measurements. But Katya still insisted that everything was going to go to shit.

“The only thing that isn’t right to you, is your lack of control over the next step. Everything is written as we want it, they said they can start tomorrow. So sign those damn papers and then lets grab a smoke before heading back to the shop,” Ginger said as she pushed a pen closer to Katya.

Katya signed her name at the bottom of the plans before pulling out her phone. A quick call with her contractor later, she was stuffing her loose papers into her shoulder bag. It was old and falling apart, but it had been a gift from her parents when she first started her business.

 _“If you look like you have your shit together, your clients will trust you,”_ Her father had said as she opened it and it had served her well. In its glory days it was shiny and the leather smelled of potential. These days it was peeling in parts and there was a hole in one corner that Katya refused to acknowledge.  

She slung it over her shoulder before following Ginger out of the shop, shaking a cigarette free from her new pack. She was fishing her lighter out of the front pocket of her bag, eyes cast downwards as she walked into the sidewalk. Her fingers curled around the plastic as she bumped into a woman walking past her.

“Sorry!” The woman threw the phrase over her shoulder as she continued walking, golden blonde hair bouncing as she turned her head forwards. The spiral curls drew Katya into a trance and then Ginger was laughing and breaking the hold the woman’s hair had on Katya. Katya’s eyes flickered down, taking in the keyhole cut-out of the woman’s pink dress. A tattoo peeked out but Katya couldn’t make it out.

Her skirt was bouncing, matching the cadence of the woman’s steps and the hem got dangerously close to the swell of the woman’s ass. Katya’s mouth ran dry as a particularly strong gust of wind pushed the skirt even higher and Katya held her breath as it picked it up another centimeter. In an instant, the woman’s hand smoothed down the side of the skirt, holding it down. Her nails were painted a bright yellow and the image of the fingers being pushed into Katya’s mouth took over Katya’s psyche.

Then the woman turned the corner and Katya was forced to turn her attention back to Ginger who had already locked the door and was halfway done with her own cigarette.

“You done, perv?” Ginger barked before exploding into laughter at Katya’s blush.

“Let’s go,” Katya murmured as she lit her cigarette and began walking back to the car. Leaning against the passenger door, she stared into the burning end of the cigarette. She kept glancing up and over, in the direction that the woman had walked. Without finishing it, she put it out and finally opened the door to the car.

*

Katya pressed her palms into her closed eyes as the shop door slammed shut. Her afternoon had passed quickly at first, then the consultation with her new clients had moved so slowly. Katya had felt her skin crawling halfway through, the weight of the job and the remodeling choosing that moment to threaten to make her crumble. The anxiety and stress had struck her so heavily, and the lack of ability to _move_ had caused her blood to boil. The meeting had drawn on for hours and it quickly became an event that Katya was not looking forward to.

It was a couple, in for wedding decorations and Katya could tell at first glance that the job was going to be painstaking. Their clothing was sleek, the diamond on her finger blinding and his Rolex gleamed. The pictures they brought with them had excited Katya, ‘floral overload’ seemed to be the theme they were going for. Then they had muttered something about an _unlimited budget_ and then pulled out a strict list of what they didn’t want. Katya could feel the creativity draining from her body, trying to find its freedom before she had to tamper it down and create the basic arrangements that they were drooling over.

“Don’t couples like that make you want to get married?” The sarcasm was dripping from Ginger’s voice as they watched them walk away.

Katya hummed as she turned away. It was time to go home, she just needed to pack up and then she could enjoy the rest of her night. Not that there was much of it left, but it was enough for her to sit down with a book, but end up watching TV instead.

“Imagine spending your whole life with someone you hate, playing a circling game of ‘Keeping up with the Jones’’ only to have your picture-perfect partner cheat on you after you have a child,” Ginger shook her head as she sank into one of the seats previously occupied by the engaged couple.

“Bitch, you’re married,” Katya hurled at Ginger, pointing out the flaw in her observation.

“Yeah, but my husband and I are real people,” Ginger hit back at Katya.

“Okay, bitch,” Katya laughed as she closed her bag. She sat down, enjoying the calm of the end of a work day. Her eyes fluttered closed as she thought about taking off the heels she had worn that day, ignoring the pair of slippers she had stashed in her desk drawer. She wanted the extra 20 minutes of ache to make the moment of her bare feet hitting her carpeted floor even sweeter.  

“Have you put your face in anyone’s pussy lately?” Ginger broke Katya’s moment of silence. She opened her eyes, fixing her stare on Ginger. Her blue eyes narrowed, initiating a standoff with Ginger’s hazel gaze. Ginger held her own, winning the battle as Katya shook her head, scoffing and pushing herself up and off the chair. “The silence says it all!”

“Oh, fuck off,” Katya picked up her bag, swinging it out and then onto her shoulder. Ginger ducked, narrowly avoiding the assault.

“It’ll help!” Ginger followed Katya out of the shop, pulling out two cigarettes from her own bag as Katya locked up. She offered one to Katya, her own form of an apology. “Give you an outlet to let out some of the anxiety. Let’s you feel like you’re in charge of something.”

Katya lit her cigarette and leaned against the shop door, waiting for Ginger to finish her spiel before she made her way to her car.

“Noted. Anything else you want to comment on before we part ways?” Katya raised her eyebrows, ready to tune out whatever Ginger was going to say next.

“Charge your vibrator,” Ginger sniggered at the blush that blossomed on the tops of Katya’s cheeks.

 “Anything else?”

“Nope! See you tomorrow!” And then Ginger was walking away, a little cloud of smoke puffing up over her head that quickly diffused into the night air.

“Bye bitch.”

Katya began her walk in the opposite direction, taking her time getting to her car. Her home would be there when she got there. There was no need to rush when she’d order her pizza on her own time. The TV shows and movies would still be there on Netflix when she got there. Her shower wouldn’t turn on without her.

When she got into her car, she rolled the windows down all the way. The wind rushing into her car drowned out her music as she drove and she hummed a tune different than the song that was playing.

People have always told Katya that she was like a tornado. When she entered a room, she destroyed everything in her path. You could walk in after her and know _Katya had been there._ You could track her movement down to where she stopped for a smoke break. Katya had laughed when she first heard it, she had been young and boisterous and taken it as a compliment. At 36, she was less like a tornado and more like a contained explosion. Instead of making a path, she made the places where she settled a cesspool of _Katya._

After entering her apartment, Katya slipped off her heels, hissing as her feet flattened on the ground. They were pushed against the wall, ready to be slipped on in the morning, her bag was dropped at the edge of her couch. It was after she entered her bedroom that her clothes were stripped in record time, being thrown somewhere near her hamper. The clunky jewelry she had bothered with that morning were taken off next. She pulled on the sleep shirt she had left on her pillow and then was back in the living room in record time.

The pizza had been ordered and delivered, a movie had been chosen and Katya had propped her feet on the crowded coffee table. In a fit of restlessness, she bent over, grabbing her work bag off the floor. Her foot moved as she regained balance, pushing a pile of magazines and napkins to the floor. The soft thud too quiet to startle Katya.

She stuck her hand into the bag, fingers curling around the edge of the first folder she felt. She paused as the potential for her night flashed before her eyes. She could sit there, munching on cold pizza as she went through files and polaroid’s and sketches and flower lists that she already had memorized, just to end up falling asleep on the couch. Like the previous night. And the one before.

Katya slowly let her bag fall to the floor, backing away from the routine like an animal trying to escape its predator. She pushed herself up, standing on wobbly legs, her left food asleep from propping up the right one. Limping to her bedroom, she pulled off her shirt, letting it fall to the floor. The night breeze sweeping into her room through the open window tickled her bare chest, causing her nipples to perk. She ran an index finger over the wrinkles formed on her areola, before flicking the bud.

_Nothing._

She knelt at her dresser, pulling the bottom drawer open. She rooted through the miscellaneous shit, pushing various dildos, silk ties, and handcuffs out of the way before she found the bullet vibrator she was looking for.

“Please work,” she mumbled as she pushed the button on the end. A red light flashed and the vibrator remained still before the light disappeared and Katya threw it back into the drawer. She promised herself to charge it in the morning, but she had already forgotten by the time she began rooting in the drawer again.

She pulled out another vibrator, not what she wanted but it would have to do. She only reached for this one when she was in a pinch and tonight was that night. She twisted the end and it vibrated for two seconds before the intensity died down and it stilled.

“Fuck!” She unscrewed the end, letting the batteries fall onto her open palm. The batteries were coated in thick white crust and Katya sighed as she looked into the cavity. There was crust all in the toy, covering the spring and all inside the cap. She threw it into her trashcan as she grabbed her phone.

She didn’t need a vibrator. All she needed was a little bit of starting inspiration, maybe a bit of lube and two fingers. She spent all of her broke 20’s with her hands down her pants, the luxury of vibrators and dildos not necessary. She pulled down her panties, stepping out of them and kicking them up, snatching them out of the air in a fluid motion. They were the first article of clothing that night to make it into the hamper, but Katya wasn’t paying attention.

She laid back in bed, fluffing her pillows before leaning back all the way. She closed her eyes and reached back into her mental spank bank. She pulled up the images of the models in the old Playboys that she used to steal from her older brother. Some were nude, some wearing sexy lingerie. Some of them had different colored hair, but their faces were interchangeable. She flipped through but none of them had sparked any bit of desire in her. That went to the back of the box and she moved through the rest of her rolodex.

Image after image flashed through her mind, but she didn’t feel anything. Katya gave up, unlocking her phone and pulling up her private safari window.

“Don’t let me down, old faithful,” Katya whispered as she scrolled through her pornsite of choice. Her left hand trailing down her body, resting over her mon pubis.

 _Sexy Russian woman punishes her student_. Katya paused, fingertip hovering over the thumbnail. It began its 3-second preview and Katya continued scrolling. The student looked like an actual student and Katya was past the point of fantasizing about someone that young.

 _Hot Brunette MILF does anal._ Katya clicked on the video, skimming ahead past the dialogue. She watched for a few minutes, completely disinterested before exiting out and scrolling down the main menu again.

_Hot women having sex on a deck. Women fuck next to a bonfire. Woman uses candle wax on her partner. Anal fisting. Two ghosts caught having sex on camera._

That last one made Katya stop, curiosity taking over as she clicked on the video. Her fingers dipped down, running through her pubes lazily. She watched the whole 30-minute video, laughing amused chuckles as two “ghosts” fucked. She climbed under the covers after the stars of the video climaxed, slipping a hand beneath her pillows and fell asleep early.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katya slowed down, feeling like she was walking too close. The early morning sun created a halo around the woman and Katya felt all the air in her lungs leave her in a rush. Today the woman was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans that stretched across her wide hips with a yellow flannel tucked into them and Katya couldn’t help but wonder if the woman was cold the last time she had seen her. Katya expected the woman to turn into some of the clothes shops on their right, but she passed them. Katya watched her reach up and scratch at her scalp, those yellow fingernails disappearing into the curls and Katya decided that it didn’t matter what she looked like, Katya would follow her anywhere. But she couldn’t, they were nearing her shop and Katya decided she would stop at her door and watch the woman disappear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh hellllooooo. hope you didn't forget about me or this shit show of a story. this chapter took forever because I couldn't figure out how much time I wanted to have passed. I wrote and re-wrote the first third so many times but of course I went with what I had originally written. So that was fun.
> 
> please enjoy! 
> 
> (and don't hate me if it takes me a while to upload the next chapter)

“Fuck!” Katya gasped as she watched her full cup of coffee tumble to the ground. The brown liquid seeped through the opening of the lid, forming a puddle on the sidewalk that contained the hope of a good day. She picked up the half empty cup, glancing at her phone. Not enough time to buy another cup before she had to open the shop for the contractor. She glanced around, watching people walk around her.

She began walking, reaching the corner with cup still in hand. She glanced down each side of the cross street, trying to remember which side the shop was on. Visiting a new coffee shop had disorientated her and she refused to use her phone to help her get to the new shop. She turned to her right after recognizing a store across the street. Once she was sure the crowd was different, she used a sleeve to wipe at the lid, bringing the cup to her lips. Floor coffee was still coffee in Katya’s eyes.

She kept walking, picking up her pace at the slight breeze that hit her head on. Katya pulled at her jean jacket, pulling it tighter against her body. Late March in California was a confusing time. The past whole week had been warm, with Katya sweating through her long-sleeved shirt each day but today was chilly and she had grabbed a jacket as she walked out of her apartment just in case. Sometimes, Katya thought ahead, but those moments of planning where few and far in-between.

She picked up her pace, feeling the minutes ticking by. Just one more street to cross, then another block down and then she’d be at the shop. She approached the crosswalk, slowing down to let a car go. As she began to cross, a woman rounded the opposite corner and walked ahead of her. Katya’s eyes bugged as she came up behind the woman, recognizing her from the day before. It was the golden curls that Katya recognized, however today half was pulled up into a bun at the crown of her head. The rest dangled down her back, springing up and down as she walked.

Katya slowed down, feeling like she was walking too close. The early morning sun created a halo around the woman and Katya felt all the air in her lungs leave her in a rush. Today the woman was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans that stretched across her wide hips with a yellow flannel tucked into them and Katya couldn’t help but wonder if the woman was cold the last time she had seen her. Katya expected the woman to turn into some of the clothes shops on their right, but she passed them. Katya watched her reach up and scratch at her scalp, those yellow fingernails disappearing into the curls and Katya decided that it didn’t matter what she looked like, Katya would follow her anywhere. But she couldn’t, they were nearing her shop and Katya decided she would stop at her door and watch the woman disappear.

“Katya!” Katya heard her name being yelled behind her and she turned to face behind her, seeing Ginger walking fast to catch up to her. Katya turned back, but the woman was gone, a distant bell chiming.

*

The day had flown by, with Katya running between appointments with clients, suppliers and contractors. Bouquet ideas were finalized, flowers and vases ordered and Katya was pleased with the progress being made. She had insisted on stopping by the new shop at the end of the day and Ginger had tagged along, ready to talk Katya back from any mental breakdown that was sure to ensue once Katya saw that it wasn’t going as fast as they both had hoped.

Ginger felt herself relax once they entered the shop and Katya had let out a happy yelp.

“Look! They got all the shit out!” Katya took a lap around the room, gesturing to areas where there had been piles of debris accumulated from their previous demolitions and their first full day of work. There were skeletons of cabinets placed in their approximate spots. Pipes and reels of wire were placed around the room. The concrete floor had been marked up with x’s and notes. Katya walked into the back where more structural work was being done. Her screech echoed towards Ginger. “It’s so dusty! But my floors are here!”

Ginger stayed in the doorway, lighting a cigarette. She smoked it leaning outside, her back against the doorframe. She heard the door open beside her, switching her cigarette to her other hand. A woman walked through the door, straight into the cloud of smoke Ginger had blown out a second before.

The blonde woman waved her hand in front of her face, displacing some of the smoke. She shot Ginger a side-glance as Ginger muttered a shamed ‘ _I’m sorry.’_ She began her walk down the street with her back in a straight line, annoyance and irritation flowing out of her. The woman had just passed the shop window when Ginger jumped at a slam on the window.

Katya’s face was pressed against the glass, head turned to watch the mystery woman. The glass fogged up around her nose and then Katya was in the doorway, pushing Ginger out of the way. She stepped fully onto the sidewalk, on her toes trying to watch the woman walk away as the sidewalk got busier. It was late and the roads were filling with people on their way to dinner.  

“Did you see her face? Is it as beautiful as her backside? Where did she come out of?” Katya asked, turning back to Ginger once the mystery woman had disappeared completely.

“She’s fine. Kind of looks like a bitch,” Ginger muttered around her cigarette, taking in the last draw before she stubbed it out, throwing it into the street. 

“Oh fuck. I love when hot women have attitude,” Katya sighed as she leaned against the outside of the shop. “Did you see where she came from?”

“Next door. Wanna sniff it so you have material to wank over tonight?” Ginger sniggered as she motioned to the door next to them.

“You’re so fucking stupid,” Katya shifted, looking to the name on the window. The letters were gold and loopy, a single stroke to string them together to form _The Squid: Tattoo and Piercing Parlor._ A tattoo parlor? The woman in pink from the day before in an establishment dedicated to tattoos and piercings? Katya filed the shop into her mind, ready to look it up once she got home. She tried to hide her sniff, trying to decipher if there was any perfume lingering somewhere in the cloud of tobacco.

“Also, does ‘wank’ work as a term for female masturbation?” Katya continued, but Ginger was gone, having retreated into the shop and Katya was alone. She shook her head, trying to nudge the woman out of her thoughts before she went looking for Ginger, ready to leave and mentally prepare for the next day.

That night Katya had climbed into bed with her laptop after dinner, leaving her dishes in the sink and not bothering with the TV. Instead she settled back into the pillows she had propped up against her headboard. Her cursor blinked as she stared at the google homepage. The small box mocked her. Two days of seeing brief glimpses of a woman and Katya was ready to spend her night googling the shit out of the situation to find this woman’s cyber footprint.

Of all the traits Katya possessed, the one that outweighed the others was her obsessiveness. And Katya was more than aware of it. What more, was that she loved that part of her personality. She reveled in those moments when only one thing could grab and hold her attention. If she found a new author that she loved, she would burn her way through their body of work as quickly as she could. She would stay up late until her eyes closed on her and spend her next day of work constantly supplying her body with coffee just to repeat the cycle once she got home. If she found someone in history that fascinated her, she would leave no online article untouched. A new TV show? You could catch Katya scanning fandom forums after finishing the show, arguing with people across the world about plot conspiracies.

She loved the crash that followed when there was nothing new left and an empty void settled into her body. It was a period of rest until something else caught her attention. The lows, the highs, Katya loved it all. Katya was a spewing fountain of knowledge about the most random subjects and she loved watching strangers faces as she went into tangents about the Ming Dynasty and its important role in the formation of white and blue porcelain vases.

Katya obsessed and became infatuated easily and it was always random. She never knew who or what the subject would be, but there was one thing she could count on; she never obsessed over people she actually knew. If they were anywhere near her circle, Katya couldn’t obsess. If there was any line of communication at all, the intrigue would be gone. The chase wouldn’t feel as sweet, not with their information so readily available.

But there it was, the itch was back. It was seeping into her skin and Katya felt alive. She needed to know this woman. Everything about her. Of course, she could plan something, arrange to “accidentally” bump into her. But Katya could already feel herself seizing up, muscles going rigid if she were to come face to face with her. Katya was already captivated by the back of her head, those golden curls, she couldn’t imagine what her face would do to her. She was willing to bet her assets that her front would put her back to shame. This woman’s aura screamed beautiful and powerful and nothing made Katya weaker than a beautiful woman in charge.

Katya’s fingers moved, her left pointer finger stroking the ‘ _T’_ key, trying to decide if she could do it. She was already ashamed of what she was about to do. She had only seen the woman twice. Two times couldn’t justify an obsession. Could it? Katya closed her eyes, imaging her moral scale on her eyelids. On one side she placed _“fucked up and creepy”_ and on the other was _“slightly endearing.”_ She watched the balance sway and settle, then opened her eyes to immediately close her internet browser.

_Not today, Zamo._

She placed her laptop on her bedside table, rearranging her pillows so she could lay down. Her alarms were set and the stress of the remodel while still carrying a fully functioning business on her back was weighing her down. A sigh of contentment left her body at the early night. Katya closed her eyes, focusing on letting all the energy out of her body, starting at her toes, moving slowly up her body. Her fingertips were weightless, twitching slightly as her elbows pressed down into the bed. Before she could shut off her mind, pink flashed onto her closed eyelids and glowing curls bounced as the picture zoomed out, and she was watching the woman walking away again.

Katya could follow that ass for a lifetime, through the city, towards the Pacific Ocean and off a cliff. Plummeting towards the water with no ounce of regret, only murmuring a _thank you_. It was pathetic how attracted Katya was to the faceless body. She was sure that an ass that great was paired with a retched personality. A give and take God had to negotiate when creating her.

She didn’t know anything about her and her mind began to swim with the possibilities. In what felt like a second, Katya had written her to be her fantasy woman. A soft woman with a hard grip that could toss Katya around on top of the covers but soothe her in the comfort of their blankets. Someone who didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought, but they themselves only thought of Katya. A sense of humor that could run circles around Katyas’. Someone who cared deeper than they could cut and loved fiercely. She spun those into a woman, giving her blonde curls and an hour glass figure and timeless beauty.

_Artist or client?_ All the pink and _girly_ made her lean towards client. The fact that she saw her on two different days made her lean towards artist. _Maybe a two-day tattoo?_ But Katya hadn’t noticed any large, in-progress tattoos that would warrant a two-day appointment. However, Katya hadn’t noticed much, being too captivated by the hair and the ass.

Katya’s eyes snapped open and ‘ _fucked up and creepy’_ seemed like the only option. She grabbed her phone, rolling over onto her side. She pulled up Instagram, searching ‘ _The Squid tattoo and piercing parlor’_. Katya scrolled through the results, almost missing the account with how fast she was scrolling. She took in a deep breath and once the page loaded she began her search.

Katya scrolled, looking for anything that could possibly lead to the mystery blonde. She scrolled past a close up picture of a hockey mask tattoo, clicking on a picture of a tattoo of text. The font was similar to the writing on the shop’s window and something that Katya would expect a woman in pink to have. She swiped through the set of photos, the second of a brunette woman standing next to a man, the writing underneath the woman’s breast on full display.

_Not her._

So Katya kept going. It was two pictures later that Katya finally struck gold. It was a picture of a butterfly, a line tattoo using only black ink. Simple and elegant shading brought the insect to life, flying over the geometric designs painted behind them. She swiped through the photoset, a total of 5 photos. The middle three were progress pictures and the last one made Katya’s breath hitch in her throat.

It was her. The blonde woman that had been on the forefront of Katya’s mind for the past two days. She had an arm around a woman and they were standing with their backs to a large mirror. The shorter woman’s thank top was pulled to the side in the back, the mirror behind them reflecting the fresh tattoo covering her left shoulder blade. But none of that mattered because the woman, her woman, from the sidewalk outside her shop was smiling a little smile at the camera.

And fuck she was beautiful. Katya sunk further into her bed, pulling her blankets up to her chin. She tucked the blankets in below the edges of her body, creating a space of warmth and safety. Whatever Katya had envisioned didn’t hold a candle to the beauty in front of her. Her skin seemed impossibly smooth. Round cheeks were contoured with a sharp line that blended smoothly into a soft pink that accentuated the apples of her cheeks. A thick wing of matte black  lined her eyes and Katya zoomed in as much as she could but she couldn’t make out the exact color of the woman’s eyes. Her full lips were lined and painted a dark pink, pulled taught and curving upwards, none of her teeth exposed. Zooming in a bit more, Katya could see her natural cupids bow peeking through her lipstick, her lips overdrawn and she found it endearing.

All of her features were strong and defining. On anyone else Katya would’ve shrunk back, the features too loud. But on her, they all came together. With the picture still zoomed in, Katya moved the zoom, taking in all the different sections of her body. She stood tall and strong, a fuzzy pink sweater stretched across her chest, sleeves reaching to her wrists. Light wash jeans hugged the curves of her legs and Katya salivated over the strength present in them. The outfit came together with a pair of pumps that matched the pink of her sweater. Katya felt a sudden urge to run her tongue over the shiny patent leather, while a hand stroked up the woman’s round calf, teasing soft skin.

Warmth began to spread through Katya, starting at her finger tips and toes, and creeping into her gut. She combed through the photo again, starting at the top. She committed all the details to memory. The curls that were half pulled back, pinned with a large pink bow, visible in the mirror behind her. They hung to the middle of her back, and Katya wanted to twist the strands in her hand. She could envision it. Placing her hand on her jaw, slowly moving her hand to cradle her fingers around the back of the woman’s head, pulling her into a searing kiss. Katya clenched her fist around her phone. Her fingers curling into the strands at the root, pulling slightly, just enough to tilt the woman’s face back. Enough to break the kiss so Katya could trail her lips down her jaw. Fingers loosening to travel down the strands, stopping midway to clench the curls, twisting the strands once around her fist and pulling. Tilting her head back more so Katya could nip at the base of her neck.

Katya’s finger slipped, locking her phone while she slid her empty hand down her body. She lifted the edge of her underwear with her middle finger, slipping her hand beneath the soft cotton. She raked her fingers through her pubes once, then a second time before slipping her middle finger over the edges of her labia. First one, then the other then back to the first. She could feel the wet already seeping through. She stifled a laugh. Bone dry yesterday, but today at just the slightest fantasy of the woman she was borderline dripping.

She pushed one finger past her labia, sighing as it ran up, over her opening and up to her clit. She dropped her phone, slipping her now free hand under her shirt, bunching it over her tits as the blanket subsequently fell lower. Her nipples puckered at the cooler air and she pinched and pulled at her left one while she slipped one, then two fingers inside herself.

Her hips bucked as she began to fuck herself, looking for the angle she liked. Curving her fingers, she pushed harder, but relented when the pressure of her impending orgasm stopped building. She huffed as she slipped her fingers out, gathering her wetness to spread over her clit.

She was close, she could feel the stress melting off her body. She couldn’t think of anything besides those pink lips opening, forming a perfect ‘ _O’_ in ecstasy. A soft, slim, pale hand wrapping around the bars of Katya’s headboard. Fingers with yellow polish gripping at the gray metal. A thick body underneath Katya, skin rippling as it shook with pleasure.

And Katya was rubbing at her clit, a steady rhythm that became more and more erratic as she got closer and closer to her orgasm. She let go of her nipple, squeezing at her inner thigh instead, pushing the pads of her fingers hard into the flesh. A high-pitched whine left her throat as her fingers began to slip and slide over her clit, almost not enough friction to feel anything. She could feel herself dripping and when she squirmed, she could feel wet spots on her sheets, the wetness feathering out as her ass moved across them. Her knees splayed open, orgasm rippling through her body. The hand on her thigh moved, pushing the hair out of her face. She wiped her wet hand on her thigh lazily, pushing the blanket completely off her body and she could breathe again.

Her body came off its high slowly, her body cooling slowly. She tossed her phone onto the bedside table, not bothering to check the time or look for the name of the mystery woman. She closed her eyes, letting her post-orgasm euphoria drift her off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently going back and forth between a bunch of ideas in regards to Trixie's tattoos, so if you have suggestions, or if you think something might be interesting and you want me to potentially use it, leave a comment and say what it is! 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr [here](https://samwhambam.tumblr.com/) ! Come say hi and chat! Tell me if ya like the fic. Or if you hate it. OR BETTER YET TALK TO ME ABOUT TRIXIE WITH TATTOOS BECAUSE I AM VERY MUCH HERE FOR IT


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And then her breath hitched as the woman came back, Trixie right behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was gonna be posted 3 minutes earlier but then Touch My Body came on and I got distracted.

A week had gone by since Katya had seen _Trixie_ in person. That was her name, _Trixie._ Trixie who had an Instagram dedicated to her tattoo work. The page was full and certain throwback Thursdays had hinted at least 7 years in the business, with artwork Katya was drooling over. There were random pops of color, but most of her work was done in black with blending Katya was immediately impressed by.

Even the two tarot card tattoos Katya had spent lots of money on and loved beyond belief, paled in comparison to what Trixie had done. The more she scrolled, the stronger the desire to get tattooed by Trixie became. There was a plethora of ideas that had been swimming in her mind for years, but her fear of needles always held her back from going overboard. The images in her mind took form with Trixie’s style and Katya fell in love with the tattoos immediately.

But Katya knew that she couldn’t approach the subject without getting over the crush she had fabricated. Sitting in a chair while a hot woman drags a needle over her skin for hours was a form of torture she couldn’t quite sit through yet.

Katya had found her personal Instagram, which was private and what she assumed was her Facebook profile, which was also very private and had a profile picture that seemed to not have been changed in years. There had been a ‘Beatrice Mattel’ at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. A double major in music and art with only a couple of photos online but the slim brunette holding a guitar in the pictures only slightly resembled Trixie so Katya was unconvinced.

Katya hadn’t seen Trixie in a week. There had been times where Katya had thought she had seen her, her eyes perking up at every curly haired blonde. But it was never her. Just daydreams of seeing her, running into her, making a silly remark that impressed Trixie upon first meeting. Katya had run through countless flirty remarks while showering. Some of them had impressed her under the running water. The bravery in those scenarios made Katya’s heart swell and pride blossom in her belly. Once she was out, feet touching the fluffy bathmat, she realized how fucked she was if she was ever to actually meet her.

It had been a week full of anxiety and stress. The weekend had come and gone and Katya had two big work events that left her exhausted on Monday and still recuperating on Tuesday. There had been a wedding and then an anniversary party she had decorated for. The shop was coming along well, the plumbing and electrical work had been started and finished. All of the cabinet pieces had been delivered, her new appliances were scheduled to come at the end of the week, paint had been bought. And for the first time in a while, Katya felt like she could breathe.

It was Wednesday morning and Katya was flipping through her planner, grateful for the slow week she’d be having. There were more client meetings next week, but for now her only worries were inventory and the renovations. The renovation was continuing smoothly, the projected end date coming fast. Everything was out of her control, but the communication between the team and herself settled a bit of her anxiety.

Their little flower shop was doing better than ever. They had hired another shop hand, Blair, and Katya could hear Ginger training her, her voice carrying from the store-front, through her open office door. Blair seemed sweet, a young woman with wide Bambi eyes. Katya had been apprehensive of hiring her, but Blair and Ginger had bonded very quickly over Broadway shows and Ginger had insisted she’d be a good, sweet face to balance out Katya’s crazy. She had even gotten along with Sasha, their other employee, and that had sealed the deal. Everything was going great and Katya was waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the bad to kick in full force.

Her life was quiet, something she had been striving for, for what felt like so long. Years of sobriety had been hard, but now she was no longer living day to day, instead thinking of where her business would be in 10 years. Where she would be. She was comfortable, the years of penny pinching were finally paying off. Business wasn’t slowing down, but she had finally caught up and gotten in the flow of life.

She was spending her morning planning, penciling in when all her orders needed to be put in. Her sample bouquets for clients were listed and described in detail, time blocked off during the rest of the week for each one. Phone appointments were highlighted and she had the whole day free of work. Even when she double checked, there was nothing. For once Katya was completely organized.

Katya meandered her way into the front counter, watching Blair ring up a customer. She watched her nervous hands wrap the bouquet in brown wrapping paper, tying the shop’s signature red yarn bow around the stems, a business card hanging from the middle knot.

Blair looked up, catching Katya’s eye, holding the bouquet up and raising an eyebrow. Katya gave her a thumbs up, wishing the customer a good day as they walked out. Blair watched as Katya leaned against the counter, silently drumming her fingers against the counter. Her fingers stilled before continuing, drumming the beat of _Gentleman,_ praying that the song would leave her head before the end of the day. She had fallen into a youtube hole the night before in order to keep herself from sending Trixie a follow request on Instagram, snapping out of it once she got to _Psy._ She wiped at the greasy fingerprints on the glass, creating a larger smudge. She contemplated going outside for a cigarette, but before she could push herself off the counter, Ginger came back in through the front door.

“Can you do something useful?” Ginger sniggered, bringing in a half dead bouquet from their outside display. She pulled out the dead flowers before placing the bunch in a vase near the register, marking down the price on the tag. “You’re standing there like dead weight and you’re going to scare the customers away.”

“There’s nothing to do!” Katya huffed and finally pushed her body off the counter.

Katya had never done well with actual boredom, when all the activity in her life tapered off and there was nothing left to do. As a kid she was always bouncing off the walls, trying to find things to do. Her mother had always tried to funnel Katya’s energy into useful hobbies. But most of her projects were abandoned halfway through, only a few sparked the passion in Katya to see it to the end. Even her art was rushed, quick to be finished before it lost her attention and she was bored again, starting a new idea.

Her father had told her countless of times, that her penchant for activity was going to get her in trouble one day. As a kid, those words in his thick Russian accent had frightened her, but as an adult she could only agree that her worst life choices had come from her inability to do nothing.  

“Go do something for yourself then! What’s the point of being the boss of a business if you don’t leave work to your workers so you can go fuck off?” Ginger pushed her towards the office.

“I don’t know what to do!” Katya protested as Ginger grabbed her purse, slinging it over Katya’s shoulder.

“Go get your pussy licked. Go get another tattoo. Getting bangs usually signifies a mid-life crises and you’re not living past your 60’s so that works too. I don’t know and I don’t care,” Ginger shouted as she walked back to the counter, pushing the inventory binder towards Blair. “Now leave because your nervous energy is interfering with my training.”

And then Katya was walking out the door, purse slung over her shoulder. She had begun to walk out the door with her work bag, but Ginger had quickly snatched it away, muttering about crazy workaholics who couldn’t relax. The door closed behind her and Katya was being blinded by the morning sun. She pulled her sunglasses out of her bag, followed by a crumpled pack of cigarettes and a lighter with the chipped message _“i heart sf’._

She began the walk to her car, the red hatchback standing out from the cars lining the street. She shifted her purse strap, pulling the long blonde waves out that had gotten caught under the thick strap. She caught her reflection in a Mustang she was passing, the lightened blonde locks framed her face and hung down to her breasts.

_Bangs. Not the worst thing I could do._

And then Katya turned away from the car, and noticed the sign to her left. A salon she had forgotten about and her fingers itched as she put out her cigarette. The impulsive need for a change came over her so quickly and before she could blink, she was leaving the salon, bangs styled perfectly over her forehead.

Katya finally made it to her car, sliding into the driver’s seat. The skirt of her dress rode up as she sat and flipped the visor down, assessing her new look in the mirror. She raked her fingers through the short strands, marveling at the way it subtly changed her face.

“They’re never going to look this good again,” She mumbled out loud, turning her face to see the impact from every angle.

She stuck the key in the ignition, turning on her blinker. A glance at her mirrors showed a car waiting behind her, waiting to take her spot. With a ‘ _fucking L.A. drivers’_ she pulled out. At a red light she pulled out her phone, scrolling through her playlists, but nothing stood out to her. The light turned green and she pressed on the gas, watching the scenery pass by. She wasn’t sure where she was going. Not home, there was nothing there that could entertain her when nothing outside would.

She kept driving, taking turns that she later wouldn’t remember making. She snapped out of her funk as she drove past the new shop. She turned down the next street, scanning for parking. A car left on the other side and she checked for cops before flipping a u-turn and struggling to parallel park in the tight spot.

And then she was walking down the street and around the corner. She smoked another cigarette as she walked, stopping in front of the tattoo parlor. She peered into her shop, smiling at the image of everyone bustling around, tools covering every surface. She took a step closer to the wall, trying to hide her body a bit from the workers. They all knew her, she had spoken to them all countless of times, and she wanted to avoid any awkwardness caused by her stopping by too much.

She put out her cigarette as she took a step back, already getting her fill of the progress. She moved as the door to the parlor began to open, reaching a hand to prevent it from slamming into her. She moved out of the way as a blonde woman stepped through the open doorway. Her heart stilled, her brain short circuiting at the blonde hair, and then her mind registered that the hair was straight and short and it wasn’t _her._

Katya visibly relaxed, but then the woman was holding the door open for her, mistaking her actions as being her entering the shop and then Katya panicked. The woman looked at her expectantly and Katya had no choice but to walk in and accept that she had fucked up.

And then the woman sitting at the desk was welcoming her in and asking about an appointment and Katya’s brain finally caught up to what was happening and stuttered out an:

“Uh. Do you guys do walk-in piercings?” Katya cringed at herself. Her voice was weak, her palms sweating, and she had _asked for a piercing._ No time to pump herself up to deal with needles. She had walked into her personal hell and she was praying for a miracle, too embarrassed to say ‘never mind’ and walk herself back out. 

The woman’s eyebrows furrowed over her sleepy green eyes. Her blonde hair was straight and long and swept from side to side as she stood from her stool.

“We do. Our main piercer is actually out for the afternoon,” She said as she turned to completely face Katya. Katya let out the breath she was holding, feeling herself relax after narrowly avoiding the situation. The green eyes trailed over Katya’s body and then the woman was smirking. “But one of our tattoo artists also does piercings and she’s in right now and just finished her appointment, so let me ask if she can squeeze you in.”

Katya felt the anxiety starting to rise again as the woman walked through one of the doorways behind the counter, her heart beating faster as she realized there was no way she was getting out of this. And then she heard it. A faint call of ‘ _Trix!’_ that sent her heart into her stomach and she felt her stomach twist around it. She wanted to run, needed to _leave_ but her feet wouldn’t move.

And then her breath hitched as the woman came back, _Trixie_ right behind her. Her online pictures didn’t do her justice and Katya realized she was so _fucked_. She was going to fire Ginger. Fire her and never speak to her again because this was her fault. If she had let Katya stay in the shop, let her fuck around there. None of this would be happening.

The woman was looking at her, eyes rolling over Katya and Katya could see her taking everything in. She had regrets. Being here was one, but she was mad at herself for not putting more into her appearance that morning. She had thrown on a basic, black shift dress and her black jellies instead of her sparkly, black shift dress and the heeled, thigh high boots that matched the material of the fabric. She went for function today and she cursed herself because Trixie was still looking at her and no one had said anything yet and Katya felt like a child too scared to say anything.

“So you’re looking to get pierced?” Trixie tilted her head, coming up to the counter. She laid two large hands on the glass and Katya’s eyes focused on them. Pink, coffin shaped acrylic nails graced her fingertips, except for her index and middle finger on her right hand. Katya’s cheeks turned a bright red as she took in the implications.

“Yeah!” Katya squeaked out before clearing her throat and trying again. “Yeah, if I’m able to.”

“Okay,” Trixie nodded, her hair bounced and Katya’s mouth ran dry. She felt like she was about to die and yet she had never felt so alive. Trixie picked up her right hand, holding it out for Katya. “My name’s Trixie.”

Katya took her hand, embarrassed at how sweaty her palm was, and shook it. She introduced herself and felt her nerves settle very slightly.

“What were you wanting to get done?” Trixie returned her hand to the counter, her eyes boring into Katya’s.

Katya had to look away once the eye-contact became too much. Her eyes slipping to the other woman’s bright pink lips. She got distracted by the raw energy being radiated off Trixie. Then the question hit her and her eyes widened and flickered to the sign over the counter.

“Uh. Nipples! I wanted to get my nipples pierced,” Katya pulled it out of her ass and she wanted to laugh at herself. One of her genuine laughs. Wanted to shake at how pathetic she was.

“Okay!” And then Trixie was pushing herself off the counter, motioning to the other woman. “Pearl is gonna get you started, have you sign the paperwork, pick out jewelry and she’ll bring you into the piercing room once you’re ready!”

And then she was walking away and Katya finally took notice of her outfit, a yellow dress that cinched in at the waist and flowed to her knees. There were short, flowy sleeves and Katya couldn’t make out any of the tattoos on her arm before Pearl was clearing her throat. Katya felt her skin turning a blotchy red as she turned back to Pearl who was smirking at her. Completely aware that Katya had been memorizing what she could about Trixie.

Katya felt herself dissociating, her spirit leaving her body as Pearl talked her through everything. She signed papers, chose simple barbell jewelry that had space for Katya to swell around, and clutched at the aftercare packet that Pearl had handed to her as she walked Katya into a room right off the main lounge.

She stood in the doorway, looking in like Prince Charming, waiting to enter the dragon’s lair. She waited, trying to steady her nerves but then Trixie was motioning her in and Katya felt her body move on its own accord. She was drawn in like a moth to the flame, ready to be burned. Trixie had already set up, a small table covered in paper towels, bottles of different solutions were uncapped and ready and black plastic gloves were stretched over her hands. Her spirit snapped back into her body once she saw the two needles that were placed in a puddle of goo. Katya dropped her bag next to the lofted twin bed against the farthest wall.

“Have you ever gotten a piercing before?” Trixie asked her as she picked up a pen. Her right hand closed around the object and Katya’s eyes were drawn to the two tattoos on her forearm. The mask from Scream was etched into her skin, the hood fading down to her wrist. Above it, right below her elbow, was a hockey mask, the red marks on the mask made Katya’s mind begin to whirl. She couldn’t place the name or movie but she knew it. It was on the tip of her tongue and then she realized she still hadn’t answered Trixie’s question.

“Just my ears when I was a child,” She got out as she pushed herself onto the bed. Her feet dangled and it all felt like too much. She forced herself to look back at Trixie’s face, but the intensity of her eyes made Katya look away. She turned her eyes to the needles, the silver gleaming.

Trixie watched Katya’s eyes flicker between her own face, the needles on the table and then onto the tattoos on her right arm. Eye contact one second, eyes on the needles the other and then a searing gaze at her tattoos. There was a moment of silence, just the two of them in the room. Katya felt herself shrinking under Trixie’s calculating gaze and she wondered if Trixie was like this with all her clients. Or was it just her? Did she just have a domineering personality and now she was feeding on Katya’s weak self? Katya was completely aware that if they were wild animals, Trixie could easily take her out, feed on her flesh.

_And she was turned on by it._

“Okay, I’ll describe everything as we go. First, I need you to lower your dress and take off your bra,” Trixie motioned towards Katya’s upper half.  “Is there a zipper or do you need a blanket to cover your lower half?”

Katya’s once blotchy skin turned pale white at the realization that Trixie was going to see her half naked. It hadn’t hit her when she panicked and chosen the piercing location that she was going to have to get undressed. Undressing in front of strangers had never been an issue, but Katya was beginning to feel shy.

“Uh, there’s a zipper,” Katya said as she reached back, brushing her hair in front of her shoulders. She missed Trixie’s eyes combing over her blonde strands as she fumbled with her zipper, pulling the dress down around her waist. She discarded her bra, placing it on her purse and stood with as much confidence as she could muster.

“I’m going to place two dots on each side of your nipples and once we’re both happy with the placement, I can do the actual fun part,” Trixie smiled at Katya before she pulled a stool out from the corner of the room, adjusting it so she was eye level with Katya’s breasts.

Katya watched Trixie work, relaxing as Trixie focused on the placement. Her brows furrowed as she finished one nipple, moving onto the other. A little line formed between her arched brows and Katya had to fight the urge to push against it with her finger. When she looked back up at Katya, her eyes met Katya’s and the exact shade of deep brown was ingrained in her mind. She closed her eyes as Trixie placed the next dot and the black of her eyelids turned dark brown. She opened them again as she heard Trixie scoot back.

“Can you raise both your arms?” Trixie asked and surveyed her work as Katya did. She reached out a hand and raised her eyebrows in question. “Do you mind if I touch you?”

It was a mixture of the question, Trixie sitting down and her looking up at Katya through impossibly thick lashes and the small purse of her lips that made Katya’s mind blank, her arms lower slightly and her pupils dilate. She sighed out a _‘yeah’_ that left Trixie with a slight smirk.

Then she placed a gloved hand on one breast, gently nudging it from side to side, lifting it so it was lopsided. She did the same to the other before scooting to the side, out of the way of the mirror that Katya didn’t notice upon entering.

“I like the placement here, this is where I would keep it if I were you. If you don’t like it, I can redo it,” Trixie said as Katya stared at herself in the mirror. “But this will look best when you lay down and stuff.” 

She looked less at the dots and more at herself. Seeing herself as how she appears to Trixie in the moment. She still hadn’t eaten anything, so she still had her morning abs peeking out of the edge of her bunched up dress. Her hair appeared healthy under the light and her bangs were still styled perfectly. Her lipstick was relatively perfect, the line of her eyeliner still crisp. She looked good.

_You’ve survived the past 20 minutes, you can get through the next 20 and then you’ll never see Trixie again._

_And you look good. Just don’t let her see the crazy and you’ll be fine._

“Yeah, it looks good!” Katya muttered as soon as she paid attention to her nipples. She turned to face Trixie, who had been studying Katya’s face.

“Great!” And then she was explaining the process to Katya, her hands flying around as she talked. Katya tried to follow along, but her she began to zone out, letting Trixie’s husky voice soothe her. Trixie pointed out all the equipment she was going to be using and Katya’s eyes focused on the nipple clamps in the corner of the mat.

Katya laid back on the bed, turning her head to face Trixie. She willed herself to say something, anything. Trixie was messing with the clamps, loosening them. Katya had barely heard Trixie when she was explaining them, something about guiding the needle through holes on the side. But then she was warning Katya that she was about to put them on her. She was lining one pair up, eyes squinting as she focused.

“I like your tattoos,” Slipped out of Katya’s mouth. “Especially the horror themed ones.”

“Oh!” Trixie perked up, her lips forming a perfect circle and her eyes growing wide. She placed the first pair on before sitting back.

She raised her right arm, twisting it around to show of all her tattoos. Katya watched Trixie’s face, making a mental note of the way she looked at her own tattoos. There was a softness to her eyes that Katya couldn’t have imagined. A twinkle as she looked over the knife along her tricep. She ran her left index finger over a glove with blades for fingers.

“Thanks! I’ve always loved horror films,” Trixie smiled at the compliment, the apples of her cheeks glowing.

The Trixie in front of her made Katya melt. The one she had melt immediately after entering the parlor had terrified her, but this version of her was still smiling at the thought of her tattoos and Katya felt her stomach swoop.

Trixie placed the other clamp on, before turning back to grab a needle.

“Nipple clamps are on, now it’s time for the fun part,” Trixie said with a wink and the butterflies in Katya’s tummy morphed into a hot feeling of desire. 

“Kinky,” Katya huffed with a chuckle. Trixie paused, her eyebrows raised before she threw her head back, a loud shriek that turned into a proper laugh leaving her lips. Katya was completely enamored by the action and blushing.

Then Trixie was off again, explaining the actual piercing procedure. She was back to being professional, the switch happening so quickly, in the blink of an eye Katya was terrified again. Trixie was lining up the needle, the little wrinkle between her eyebrows returning as Trixie held onto the clamp.

“Breathe in. On the count of three, big, hard breath out.”

Trixie counted, Katya’s adrenaline skyrocketing and then she was exhaling hard, the pain sharp, and then she was breathing normally, wincing as Trixie pushed the jewelry in, as the needle was pulled through. The actual pain had been over quickly and Katya was left with a throbbing nipple.

The whole process was repeated and then Katya was sitting up, putting her bra back on as gently as she could. She stood to pull her dress back up, reaching back for the zipper. Her chest pushed forward as she reached behind her.

“Here, let me get that for you,” Trixie stepped forward after noticing Katya’s wince as her nipples rubbed her bra. 

Katya nodded silently, turning her back to Trixie. She felt the slight tug and then the sides of her dress coming together. Two gentle hands ran over her shoulders, smoothing the dress and then Trixie was standing in front of her.

The little happy smile was back and Katya looked at her for what felt the first time that morning. The nervous energy had left her body as the first needle passed through her nipple and she felt relaxed. Trixie terrified her. Truly and thoroughly scared Katya. Katya had always been nervous around beautiful women. There was a rolodex of memories where Katya had embarrassed herself in front of plenty of women.

And Trixie was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She was tall and curvy, her facial features bold and emphasized with make up in the same way it had been done in the Instagram posts. Katya noticed the gold sparkles present in her lipstick, the edges crisp. She could feel the edges of her own lipstick feathering out and the sharp pang of incompetence rang up her spine.

The snap of her latex gloves being pulled off snapped Katya out of her trance, just in time to catch Trixie’s spiel on aftercare. She pointed at the business card stapled to the front of the packet. Katya etched each word into her mind, each syllable out of Trixie’s mouth was memorized, ready to be pulled up later that night. When Katya realized how lame she had been, what she could’ve said that would’ve been flirtier, suaver. Spinning conversations that would never happen after she left the parlor, using the fragments of Trixie’s personality that she had experienced to create a full, two-sided conversation.

Trixie walked her out, past the counter, stopping near the door. She held her hand out, and Katya grasped it, shaking it as three acrylic nails dug in lightly to her skin. Katya shook at the rough fingertips and their contrast to Trixie’s warm, soft palm. Then Trixie was letting go, fingers gliding along Katya’s clammy hand.

They said good-bye and then Katya was stepping out of the parlor, unaware of what just happened. Her body shook as the adrenaline stopped flowing, being replaced by anxiety. She tried to recall everything she said, ready to analyze her actions, decide if she should be embarrassed if she were to run into Trixie again, but all she could remember was Trixie.

Fuck if she knew what she had said, or done. Had she cracked any jokes? Did she even say anything? She didn’t remember the pain of the piercings, only the look on Trixie’s face when Katya had complimented her tattoos. She didn’t remember putting her bra back on, only Trixie’s hands smoothing out her dress. And the brown of her eyes, so deep and pure.

She walked back to her car, a little less inclined to fire Ginger but still thinking about it. She yanked the door open, closed it a little too hard behind her, scaring herself.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” Katya screamed at herself, the infatuation sticking to her brain like taffy.

She pulled her purse up, from where she had thrown it behind her seat. She took out a cigarette, putting the pack on the passenger seat. Then picked it back up, taking two more out and putting it in the cup holder. She lit the first one before starting her car, rolling the window down as an afterthought. She drove back to the shop, smoking all three in succession.

Pulling into a parking space behind the shop, she exhaled her last cloud of smoke, leaning back into her seat, gripping the steering wheel and pushing back even more, willing the leather to swallow her up. She felt alive, the crush on Trixie making her feel more than she had in a while, while feeling like she was dying. Her heart slowly being squeezed by those acrylic-clad hands, all while being fed the blood it needs to survive.

She was _fucked_.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh hope you guys had a lovely weekend and your monday doesn't suck! 
> 
> You can harass me on tumblr [here](https://samwhambam.tumblr.com/) ! I'm a nice girl with a lot to offer


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katya stood in front of her bathroom mirror, dress ditched on her bed, bra hanging on the top corner of the bathroom door. She tilted her head to the side, raising and lowering both arms while examining herself in the mirror. The piercings were perfect and Katya was mildly impressed with herself. A snap decision that she didn’t regret were few and far in-between. Trixie had been right; the placement was perfect and she couldn’t believe how hot she found herself. She imagined them healed, showing through a lacey, black bralette and she groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh look who didn't abandon the fic. i'm here and writing. just going through a lot of mental stuff right now that's taking all the energy out of me. life is hard, man.

Katya left her bag in her car, scurrying through the back door of the shop. She peeked into the back office, thankful that Ginger was sitting at the desk. She was rustling through papers but looked up once Katya stepped through the doorway, breathing heavy. They stared at each other, Katya’s eyes wide and manic.

“I was kidding about the whole bangs thing,” Ginger said after she let out a belly deep laugh at Katya, who only tossed her hair back in response, over her shoulder so the waves traveled down her back, resting below her shoulder blades. 

“Okay. We’re going to skip the bang talk right now because I did something worse,” Katya sat down on the chair in front of the desk, throwing her upper body against the furniture in defeat. But she sat back up as soon as her breasts made contact with the solid wood, bringing her hands up to cup her nipples as she let out a groan of pain.

“What the fuck did you do?” Ginger hissed, eyes going between Katya’s watering eyes and the bony fingers still holding onto herself.

“I got my nipples pierced,” Katya gritted out as the pain subsided to a more manageable throb. She could feel the skin swelling around the jewelry, a direct result of the hit. “No pressure on these bad boys anytime soon.”

“Wait. What?” Ginger got up to close the office door. She sat back down, leaning towards Katya.

“I went to the shop to see how things were going, but then someone opened the door to the tattoo parlor next to us and I was too close to the door so they held it open for me and I went in and the lady at the counter asked what I was there for and then I said piercing because you know how I am with needles. I mean I had to hype myself up for months to get my tattoos and it all happened so fast,” Katya spiraled, gripping her knees instead. She pulled in a shaky breath, forcing herself to continue. “I was going to try to leave but then _she_ came in and I couldn’t move and then I was sitting down, dress pulled down, getting my tits pierced.”

“Who’s she?” Ginger’s eyebrows were raised, trying to connect the dots that Katya had thrown at her haphazardly. “Oh! The woman you’ve been stalking?”

“Stalking implies a physical component! Online stalking isn’t stalking!” Katya screeched, standing up to begin to pace.

“That’s not how that works, but we’ll come back to that at a later time,” Ginger trailed off at the glare Katya was giving her.

“What am I going to do, Ginger? I probably creeped her out,” Katya said, reaching a corner, pausing and then turning around to continue walking.

“Did you say something weird?” Ginger picked up her pen, ready to go back to work once Katya left. She could feel the conclusion to their conversation coming close. 

“No. I barely said anything. I was so nervous,” Katya stopped, standing still as she finally began to calm.

_Nothing to be embarrassed about if you didn’t say anything._

“Then, you’re going to keep living your life. If you see her again, just remember that you’ve already talked to her once. You’re somehow still alive. I don’t know how cause her ass gave you multiple heart attacks,” Ginger mumbled the last bit, hoping to save what was left of Katya’s dignity

“Do my bangs look bad?” Katya asked, barely aware of the fact that she changed the subject.

“They look great. Makes your forehead seem normal,” Ginger cackled at how quickly Katya’s face dropped. Before she could stop to breathe, Katya was walking out the door, into her car and starting the trek home.

Katya stood in front of her bathroom mirror, dress ditched on her bed, bra hanging on the top corner of the bathroom door. She tilted her head to the side, raising and lowering both arms while examining herself in the mirror. The piercings were perfect and Katya was mildly impressed with herself. A snap decision that she didn’t regret were few and far in-between. Trixie had been right; the placement was perfect and she couldn’t believe how hot she found herself. She imagined them healed, showing through a lacey, black bralette and she groaned.

_I’d fuck me._  

“You did great,” She told herself, mouth moving in the mirror and Katya was fascinated with her reflection. Mid-life crisis? Maybe. Was she still hot at 36? Fuck yes. Crazy? Hell yes. Worth it? Probably.

She retraced what she could remember of her session. Besides being a nervous wreck, she hadn’t done anything wrong. Of all the things she could’ve done, could’ve said, to embarrass herself, she hadn’t done any of it. She survived.

“You are great,” She changed her affirmation as she fluffed up her hair, combing her bangs so they were aligned perfectly.

“You are currently doing great,” She told herself for the last time, eyes roaming over her body before she turned away. She grabbed a sports bra on the way to her living room.

She slipped it on, being careful to stretch it wider than normal, trying to avoid bumping the fresh piercings. Katya sat on her couch, stretching her legs across it. After a quick search, she was hitting ‘ _rent’_ on Scream, readjusting the pillows behind her. There was a blanket on the other end of the couch that she lifted with her foot, kicking it into the air before catching it and throwing it over her body.

Katya settled in, falling asleep before Drew Barrymore was murdered.  

*

It was Thursday morning and Katya was back in the shop, taking laps and inspecting all the flowers. She pulled some out, choosing only the prettiest ones. Setting them into two different piles in her basket. She was stopped the longest at the sunflowers. She picked up each one, studying its petals carefully. Twirling each stem, she watched the flowers spin.

Katya placed her basket on the counter, pulling out two vases from underneath the counter. One was a clear, standard vase, something Katya didn’t think twice about, another was a baby blue. The ceramic vase was pretty, a soft color that was popular among expectant mothers. She placed the vase back, thinking twice and pulling out its twin in the soft pink.  

In the clear vase she arranged colorful daisies, throwing in two pink roses and a dark purple hydrangea. She filled the empty space with leaves, creating a full bouquet. It was a standard arrangement, something she didn’t think twice about making. The final red bow stood out like a sore thumb, clashing slightly with the abundance of colors.

In the second vase, Katya trimmed and placed the sunflowers, fiddling with the flowers until the perfect dome shape was created. She nudged in yellow roses, careful not to disrupt the sunflowers and then topped it off with babys breath. The white breaking up the sphere of yellow, emphasizing each flower. Katya took more time to tie a perfect red bow out of a satin ribbon, the two loops were identical and the ends trimmed so there were no loose fibers.

She packed them into a box, settling them on the floor of her backseat, driving carefully to her destination. She didn’t smoke on her drive, instead she opened all the windows, blasted her ‘French’ playlist on Spotify and hummed along, only singing when she remembered the words. When she parked, she flipped down her visor and checked her reflection. Katya muttered to herself as she fluffed up her bangs, cleaned the edge of her eyeliner with a fingertip that she moistened in her mouth and applied another thin layer of her red lipstick.

_You’re going to do great._

Katya stepped out of her car, careful not to step into traffic. Cars whizzed by and she felt the edge of her skirt lift. She couldn’t wait until construction on the new shop was over and she could finally park in the alleyway. Street parking was awful and often too tight for her parallel parking skill level. She had gotten way too close to the Jeep in the spot in front of hers and she may or may not have tapped it, but Katya ignored it after scanning around for someone who may have seen her.

Then she was carrying the box down the street, focusing on the _click-clack_ of her chunky heels on the cement, entering through _The Squid’s_ front door. A bell rang above her and she jumped, her body twitching at the sound she didn’t hear last time. The same woman was behind the counter. Pearl. That was her name. She looked up as Katya walked up, her sleepy eyes trying to peer into the box that Katya placed on the counter. Pearl folded the page of the magazine she was on before placing it next to the box.

“Can I help you?” She crossed her right leg over her left, swiveling on her stool until she was fully facing Katya.  

“I came in yesterday, I don’t know if you remember?” Katya started, playing with the corner of the box. She scratched her nail against the cardboard, hoping that Pearl wouldn’t pick up on the nervous habit. Instead Pearl just smirked at her, her hooded eyes glinting as if she held a juicy secret.

“Yeah. You’re the one who couldn’t stop checking Trixie out,” Pearl chuckled as Katya’s eyebrows furrowed. “Thought you were going to have a heart attack.”

Katya’s embarrassment dissipated quickly, turning into hot anger at the lack of professionalism. She didn’t need to be reminded and the stranger calling her out wasn’t justified. Katya’s lips twisted into a grimace and Pearl’s face softened. Katya watched her shrink back behind the line, Pearl smiling softly, a little peace offering. As fast as the flash of anger had grown, it died down just as quickly.

“What can I do for you, Katya?” Pearl asked.

“I own a flower shop. I’m actually renovating the shop next door for our new location,” Katya explained. Her therapists voice ringing through her head, reminding her to include _context._ “And I wanted to bring these by as a thank you for yesterday. I was nervous and you all treated me very nicely. So I wanted to bring something for your counter.”

Katya pulled out the first bouquet and Pearl’s eyes lit up.

“Oh,” She gasped as Katya handed it over. Pearl placed it on the end of the counter, fingertips brushing over the colorful flowers. Her movements were slow and languid but Katya assumed it was a good thing. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Katya bit her lip as she pulled the second vase out. “Can you give this one to Trixie? Tell her it’s a thank you.”

Katya placed it on the counter, the vase making a heavy thud on the glass. Handing over the first bouquet had been easy, but with this one Katya’s anxiety spiked and she could feel her sweat glands opening and beginning to pour. The smirk that was back on Pearl’s face did nothing to help the situation and Katya snatched the box from the counter. Pearl was standing up, her body unfolding and Katya _knew_ where this was going.

“She actually just went back with a client, they probably haven’t started yet. I can see if she has a moment to come and accept those from you,” And then Pearl was turning away from her and Katya panicked.

“No!” Pearl stopped at Katya’s outburst. “If she’s with a client, don’t bother her. Just make sure she gets it!”

And then Katya was turning on her heel, leaving the shop as fast as she could without breaking something. The _click-clack_ soothing as she walked her anxiety out, each foot connecting heavily with the ground and each worry sliding off her back. The flowers were handed over, there was nothing left for her to do. Any judgements that they would make against her were going to be made, nothing she could do about it now. She threw the box into her trunk before grabbing her work bag and heading back in the direction she came. She was still banished from the shop, Ginger had insisted she not come back today either.

_“Fucking relax and enjoy doing nothing. Shit’s gonna hit the fan soon once that slew of weddings starts,”_ She had said. There was something else about how Katya’s nervous energy was worse and she was driving Ginger crazy and she didn’t have any more vacation days and she needed a break from Katya. But Katya had stopped listening, knowing that even though the business was hers, this was not a battle she could win.

She walked to the nearest coffee shop, standing in line to order. She didn’t let herself think about the consequences of what she just did. Giving people flowers was common. They weren’t always romantic gifts. Katya couldn’t not give flowers. She couldn’t be a florist who was _so passionate_ about it and not give everyone in her life flowers. That wasn’t the issue.

Would Trixie take it the wrong way? Think it was creepy? Think Katya was weird for giving her flowers after the first time they met? Katya could feel herself spiraling, afraid of making a fool of herself. Then she realized she was next in line and all worries vanished. Instead she began to repeat her order in her mind, until she was at the register and her order flowed off her tongue.

Hours later Katya was still at the coffee shop, sitting at a table for two, her work stuff spread out. She lost count of all the emails she had responded to, and all the cups of coffee she had. She was tapping at the tabletop with the fingers of her left hand, her right hand scribbling a new appointment into her planner. She has started Thursday with nothing penciled in for Friday, but now Thursday was only halfway done and her Friday was almost completely booked.

Someone clearing their throat above her caused her to pause, her pen poised to dot the last _‘i’._

“Can I sit here?” A woman asked and before Katya could look up, she knew who it was. The chair screeched as it was being pulled out and Katya could feel the blood draining from her face as she finally looked up.

Trixie was standing in front of her, one hand on the back of the chair, her eyes wide and unblinking. Katya realized she was waiting for an answer and she began to nod, her bangs being displaced with the movement. Then Trixie sat down, hands beneath the table but her body leaning towards Katya.

“How’re your nipples?” Trixie asked her, the corner of her impossibly pink mouth tilting up. And any fleeting thoughts Katya had of having a normal conversation with Trixie flew out the window.

“Tender. Swollen. A lot more attractive than I thought they were going to be,” Katya responded, timing her speech into a slow drawl, which she suspected sounded normal to Trixie. “Not the worse decision I’ve made on a whim.”

Trixie laughed, her face squishing as she leaned back in her chair. Katya counted the wrinkles around Trixie’s eyes, registered the uneven wings of her eyeliner. She scoured her face for imperfections, banking on them to return Katya to ground so she could make it through the conversation. But there were none. Just little things that Katya could only describe as _adorable._ Nothing to soothe her beating heart.

“It takes some time to get used to. When I got mine done, I kept knocking them into things and they took forever to heal,” Trixie scrunched up her nose, as if she was cringing at the memory. Katya’s mouth ran dry and she had to swallow, focusing on wetting her tongue again. “Just make sure you’re doing your salt soaks and come back so I can check up on it in two months.”

“Did them this morning!” Katya said as she folded her hands in front of her, reveling in the fact that she could say she did something correctly.

“Good girl,” Trixie smiled at her full and bright and Katya felt her cheeks heat up, a blush blossoming across her face. Trixie’s smile shifted as her eyes raked over Katya’s features. 

Receiving praise was never something Katya could handle. Compliments left her feeling uneasy, like she was more likely to disappoint someone after they praised her. But the words coming out of Trixie’s mouth caused a reaction in Katya that she wasn’t expecting, she was filled with warmth and a need to earn it again. Katya’s eyes flickered to above Trixie’s head. When she looked back at her, Trixie’s eyes were focused on hers. Katya remembered how one time an ex of hers had said that light-colored eyes were hard to stare at. They were too intense. It always felt like they were staring into your soul but Katya had to disagree. Staring into Trixie’s eyes was more intense than staring into someone’s icey blue eyes.

Neither one blinked and then Trixie’s name was being called out. She placed her purse on the floor, turning in her seat to get up, but Katya got up instead. 

“I’ll get that for you!” Katya offered, before leaving as Trixie nodded at her.

Katya walked to the counter, picking up Trixie’s iced drink and a wrapped straw. She returned to Trixie tapping her nails against the table, her left elbow resting on the table and her head on her upturned palm. Katya made a mental note of the sprig of lavender that was tattooed on the side of her left forearm and a musical instrument Katya had never seen. The sleeves of her light blue shirt reached her elbows and Katya was itching to see if there were tattoos under it that she hadn’t seen yet. Something told her yes.

Trixie thanked her, her fingers unwrapping the paper from her straw. They worked quickly and then she was stabbing the lid and her cheeks were hollowing as she drank. Her eyes fluttered shut. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Katya just watching Trixie. When she pulled away, there was a ring of pink around the straw. Her short, manicured finger traced the drops of condensation down the plastic cup.

“The flowers were beautiful,” Trixie smiled, her eyes back to staring into Katya’s. “They really livened up my station. And they made me smile. So, thank you.”

“Thank you for yesterday,” Katya retaliated. “I was really nervous and you took care of me.”

“Of course! Welcome to the neighborhood. Just know, on Wednesday’s we wear pink.” Trixie winked and Katya laughed a goofy laugh that shook her whole body. Trixie watched, a large smile on her face before she joined, her screech filling the silence that Katya’s laugh created.

They sat, little giggles taking place of the laughter as they began to settle down. Katya tried to fight the feeling to propel the conversation forward. She wanted to enjoy the moment, but the silence was mocking her.

_Can’t keep a conversation with a pretty girl flowing._

“I just want you to know that I’m not usually this weird, but I find you really attractive and that makes me anxious. My friends tell me I’m funny and quirky but it takes getting past the crazy to be able to appreciate it,” Katya wasn’t sure where the sudden surge of honesty came from, but she cursed herself, knowing that she just made the whole interaction awkward. Hindsight is 20/20 and Katya now realized that things hadn’t been weird before her little outburst.

Trixie’s mouth formed a little ‘o’. Her hair bounced around her face as her face shook for a second. Her eyes were wide and soft before slipping back to their resting shape. She reached forward, letting her fingers brush against Katya’s clasped hands.

“It’s okay. I become really forward and too much when I’m talking to someone I find attractive. It’s the Virgo in me,” Trixie was back to smiling and Katya felt her heart stop. “I’m scary apparently.”

_She finds me attractive._

Katya laughed again, slapping a hand against the top of the table. “Virgos totally scare me.”

Trixie laughed, this time louder and less restrained than the rest, _if that were possible._ And Katya couldn’t help but feel lighter.

_You didn’t scare her._

Trixie’s phone began to ring, vibrating against the table and Katya hadn’t realized it was there. Trixie picked it up, turning it over and answering it, mouthing ‘ _work’_ to Katya. Katya could hear the voice on the other end, something about an appointment and they’re waiting. Trixie’s brows furrowed and she reached over, grabbing Katya’s left hand, twisting it so she could look at Katya’s watch.

“Fuck! Yeah, I’ll be right there,” Trixie hung up, pocketing her phone into her dark blue jeans. She looked up at Katya as she rooted at her feet for her bag. “I’m totally late for an appointment.”

She stood up, pushing her chair in before leaning over it. She stooped down so she was level with Katya.

“I enjoyed this. Call the shop for my personal number,” Trixie smiled, lips sparkling as they stretched over crooked teeth. “Hope to hear from you soon.”

And then she was walking away, hips swaying and Katya watched until she was out the door and out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunflowers can represent happiness and yellow roses can signify appreciation (at least that's what google tells me)
> 
> I'm so excited to reveal more of Trixie's tattoos!! I'm also very excited to get to the spicy stuff. THAT'S GOIN TO BE FUN (also notice how i changed the number of chapters?? i have no fucking clue where this is going.)
> 
> You can harass me on tumblr [here](https://samwhambam.tumblr.com/) ! I'm a monster with nothing to offer but I can be funny sometimes.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Dolly?” Katya asked with a furrowed brow and she knew it was a big mistake when Trixie stopped dead in her tracks. She reached out and touched the wall to stabilize herself as she looked at Katya like she had just sprouted another head.
> 
> “PARTON!!” Trixie screeched and Katya was confused for another second before she let out an ‘ooooooh’ in recognition. Trixie still looked like she had been stabbed in the back and was lost for words. “Do you not???”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh look not an update posted at midnight. movin on up in the world.
> 
> this is kind of a part 1. the chapter was supposed to be a lot longer but i was so proud of the ending I had written for the first half that i needed it to be acknowledged and given the chance to be the star.

Friday morning came and Katya groaned at the sound of her alarm. She had already been awake, staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours. She reached her hand out, grabbing her phone and silencing the alarm. She placed it down on her bed, above the covers and next to her hip. The next alarm was coming in 8 minutes and Katya began listing all she could remember that she had to do that day.

_Inventory for the shop._

_Advertisements for Easter bouquets._  

_Consultation with the Jamesons._

_Meeting with Ms. White for funeral arrangements._

_Meeting with whats-her-name for the confirmation for the cosmetics launch party._

_Putting in orders for the special orders and inventory for the shop._

_Check up on construction._

Katya was already exhausted and she cursed the lazy days she had been having, her body already out of sync with her normal rhythm. She stretched her legs, feeling her muscles lengthen as she raised her arms above her head, her hands slamming against the headboard. The shrill alarm cut through the silence again and again Katya turned it off. This time she rolled out of bed, standing on her toes before exhaling slowly and folding her body forward. She wrapped her arms around her bare calves, relaxing into the pose before unfolding slowly. 

She walked to the bathroom, staring into the mirror before she brushed her teeth. She washed her face next, slapping on a fancy moisturizer that her younger sister had bought her, marveling at the sudden change. A rosy shine replaced the dull, grey tint and Katya smiled at her reflection. The wide smile and sleepy eyes resulted in an almost manic expression and her smiled dropped.

Katya pulled the contents out of her makeup bag, laying out the products she needed. The primer was spread on with her fingertips, a step she had never found necessary but the same sister had told her she had to do it. Then her foundation was buffed on, this time with a brush that her sister had given Katya.

_“You need to use a brush. Don’t use your fingers!!” Anya had screeched at her two Christmas mornings ago. “Katya! What are you, an animal??”_

_Katya had just stared at her, before charging at her, a deep throaty goat noise leaving her. Anya had shrieked, running out of the bathroom. Three days later, when Katya was saying goodbye, her sister thrusted a makeup brush into her hands, telling her to use it._

Then came contour, just quick shadows under her cheekbones. No blush or highlight. Then black eyeliner that she smudged over her eyelid with a small brush, another gift bestowed by her sister. Katya rooted back in her makeup bag for the pair of false lashes she always wore pulling it out in victory, then finding her lash glue on the floor under the sink.

“Goodbye Uncle Fester,” Katya murmured as she placed the lashes flush against her own, before painting her real ones with her eyeliner.

She stepped back, eyes wandering over her own reflection. She raked over her body, ready to scrutinize when she heard her next alarm going off. With 25 minutes until she had to be out of the house, she made a list of what she had left to do.

_Coffee._

_Lipstick._

_Get dressed._

Ran through her checklist, making mental notes of things she needed to prepare for each meeting. She ran out her door 10 minutes after her **you better have already left** alarm had startled her while she lined her lips with her new deep burgundy lip liner she had bought herself as a pick-me-up.

It was only as she was climbing into her car that she remembered to add another bullet point to her to-do list.

_Get Trixie’s number._

*

The consultation with the Jamesons had gone smoothly, Katya was excited by the moodboard one of the grooms had brought for the decorations. The white and silver hardware in the photographs were sleek and the accents of red in the bouquets fueled Katya, drawing out inspirations and similar flowers and bouquets she had done. Their budget was plentiful and they were open to what Katya was suggesting. She rode that high into her next appointment, almost pausing to call _The Squid._ The adrenaline was pumping furiously through her body and she felt invincible. But a quick look to the clock had told her that she was just too pressed for time and the bell ringing at the front of the store alerted her that she definitely didn’t have time.

Katya had done plenty of funerals. Of all the types of events, funerals were her favorite. There was nothing more beautiful than honoring someone’s life with beautiful arrangements. She consistently dealt with widows and widowers, grieving family members, but today had been particularly hard. She had never had a customer have a full breakdown during a meeting before. She’s had people excuse themselves, wiping away stray tears as they walk out of the meeting, only to come back in from the bathroom holding a wet tissue, but composed.

But the woman had lost it, sitting across from Katya, a sight of grieving that Katya didn’t know how to respond to. She had sat there, frozen and counting the seconds to distract herself from the woman, trying to keep herself from breaking out into full body hives. Her therapist had made many comments about how Katya couldn’t handle emotions because she never grieved the deaths of her grandparents and father, but Katya had brushed that off. She responded by saying she felt sad after they died, but then buckled up and accepted life and moved on. She grieved and then got on with life. But watching the sobs rock the woman’s body, Katya made a mental note to google _how to be compassionate._

It had been a grueling appointment, uncontrollable mood swings mixed with Katya unable to understand what the woman truly wanted. The woman had left and Katya was stunned. When Ginger had checked in with her afterwards, Katya asked her to close the door behind her and for her not to bother her until her next appointment arrived.

Katya had slipped off her thigh-high boots once she sat down to eat, leaning back in her chair as she just enjoyed being alone. She was exhausted, more than willing to call it a day, throw in the towel and leave. She briefly considered asking Ginger to meet with her next client, but that was going to be an easy one. The mock centerpiece was already put together, pictures of the exact flowers she was going to order were printed and placed in a binder. She just needed the woman to flip through every piece of paper, see everything, say yes or no and then it’d be done.

Katya placed her food back on her desk, the plastic container slapping against the wood. She leaned back in her chair, her eyes slipping closed as she lifted her dress further up her thighs. She exhaled slowly as the cool air hit the exposed skin of her thighs through her fishnets. The panic that had begun to settle into her, slowly left her body. 

The breath of relief didn’t last long before Katya’s mind drifted back to Trixie.

_Trixie._ Who had talked to her so brazenly, had taken Katya’s declaration of admiration in stride. She had even winked at her and given her permission to find her. And Katya had been thinking about it all day, wondering if she had enough time between appointments to do it. She had already googled the shop, saved the phone number but she hadn’t had enough time to hype herself up enough to make the call.

_Call the number. You don’t even have to call her. Just get her number._ Katya tried to coach herself as she pulled her phone out of her desk drawer. She placed it next to her food container, nudging the edge of it with her fingernail, making it run completely parallel.

_You’d be talking to Pearl first. Not Trixie._

Which, almost seemed worse. Katya drummed her fingers on the table, counting to 30. Once she got to thirty, she had to pick up the phone and call, regardless if she was ready or not. She had reached 28, only to pause, breathe, and begin counting again, including ‘0’ before the ‘1’. This time, at 30 she picked up her phone, tapping on the contact before she could think about it.

The panic began to settle into her bones as soon as the phone was picked up.

_“The Squid, this is Pearl. How may I help you?”_ Pearl drawled, slow and lazy and with effort. Katya scoffed, already annoyed. She could see her, leaning back in the chair, phone held precariously to her ear. That knowing smirk telling Katya there was something that Pearl knew that she didn’t.

“Hey Pearl. This is Katya,” Katya brought the pad of paper she kept next to her keyboard closer, reaching for her favorite pen. “Um, Trixie told me to call the shop for a number that I could reach her at?”

“Oh! Yeah!” A haughty laugh reached Katya’s ears and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Trixie told me to expect a call from you.” 

And then Pearl was rattling off a phone number and Katya was scribbling it onto the pad of paper, writing _‘Trixie’_ in large font above it. And then Pearl was hanging up and Katya slipped the paper into her purse, congratulating herself on taking the first step, willing herself to think of things other than the piece of paper.

The meeting for the cosmetic launch party went smoothly and what felt like quickly and Katya was back to staring at the piece of paper. She had it out in the middle of the desk and the piece of paper was so small, so non-threatening but Katya’s heart was thumping at the sight of it. Her palms were sweaty and Katya hadn’t even pulled her phone out of its drawer yet. She imagined Trixie answering the phone, hair down and loose, the curls framing the large features on her face. Trixie sitting on a stool, talking to her while being surrounded by 50’s style décor, the perfect mixture of a classic Barbie with a modern twist.

More than likely, at 2:30 pm Trixie was going to be in the middle of a tattoo, letting the phone go to voicemail, or she would reach the phone at it’s last ring, snapping a black glove off before swiping her phone with a breathless ‘ _hello?’._

She couldn’t be a distraction, Katya would only feel guilty. So with a relieved sigh she put the paper back in her bag, careful not to fold any of the edges.

*

Katya pulled into her apartment complex, turning down the radio as she came up to her assigned spot. The sky was quickly darkening and the flash of a car’s interior lights distracted her. She stopped as the driver door of the jeep parked in the guest spot next to hers opened. A yellow high heel stepped out, then the other and then a woman was sliding her body out of the car. And Katya felt her soul leave her body as Trixie waved in apology and quickly rounded her car to the trunk. She opened the door as Katya pulled into her car.

Wanting to rip off the Band-Aid, Katya quickly shut off her car, grabbed her work bag off the seat next to her and launched her body out of the car. Trixie turned towards her at the sound of Katya slamming her driver side door closed. They stared at each other, the silence deafening. And then Trixie was smiling and Katya felt herself coming back into her body. She could feel all 10 fingers and could wiggle all 10 toes. Trixie pulled out a guitar case, slamming the trunk closed and then she was standing on the other side of Katya’s car, laughing.

“If I didn’t know any better Ms. Katya, I would assume you were stalking me,” Trixie said around her cackles. The beep of Trixie locking her car sounded over the last screech of laughter.

“Maybe. But could you blame me?” Katya smiled at Trixie, walking to the front of her car and then they were standing next to each other. 

“You haven’t called. Pearl said she gave you my number, but I haven’t heard from you,” Trixie gently placed the case on the ground. She began to fiddle with the tie around her waist. The soft pink wrap dress was cinched so tightly around her waist. The short sleeves of her dress showed off her tattooed arms and Katya tried to make out the tattoos on her left arm in the early evening sunset, but it was too dark.

“I was too nervous,” Katya shifted her weight between her feet, looking away from Trixie before coaching herself to look back at her. There was a soft smile on Trixie’s lips, one corner lifting higher than the other.

“Well, if you give me your number I could call you? Or text you. Whichever you’d prefer,” Trixie placed a soft hand on Katya’s arm. “I’ll make the first move if you want me to.”

Katya swallowed, mentally following the glob of spit as it traveled down her throat. She couldn’t remember the last time a woman had tried this hard for her attention. All other relationships had been fleeting, most woman laughing lightly as they said a “you’re weirder than I thought” and then they both had ghosted each other, preferring to end it before things sizzled out.

“You know what, I would like that.” Katya lifted her bag higher onto her shoulder, lightening the pressure of leather strap on her shoulder.

There was a split second of silence and then Trixie was looking down at her guitar on the floor, then patting at her empty shoulder. She held up a finger, jogging back to her car before returning with the purse she had seemingly forgotten in her car. Katya was rattling off her number and Trixie tapped it into her phone.

“I like the look of long nails, but hate the inconvenience it brings when fucking,” Trixie had said when she saw Katya staring at her nails.

Katya laughed and then Trixie was picking up her guitar and they began walking to the back entrance of the apartment building.

“What’re you doing here, by the way?” Katya asked as she opened the door, holding it as Trixie passed her into the hallway.

“My friend just moved in and she’s having a little housewarming party,” Trixie said before holding up her guitar. “Another one of our best friends always insists on having a drunk sing-a-long so I was instructed to never come to our parties without my guitar.”

“You’re playing with those nails?” Katya asked with a laugh as she reached out and flicked at Trixie’s fingers.

“Hey! If Dolly can do it, I certainly can!” Trixie laughed as she followed Katya to the stairway after Katya made a side comment about the elevator being a death trap.

“Dolly?” Katya asked with a furrowed brow and she knew it was a big mistake when Trixie stopped dead in her tracks. She reached out and touched the wall to stabilize herself as she looked at Katya like she had just sprouted another head.

“PARTON!!” Trixie screeched and Katya was confused for another second before she let out an ‘ _ooooooh’_ in recognition. Trixie still looked like she had been stabbed in the back and was lost for words. “Do you not???”

“I know who she is! It just didn’t click. Me and the Parton aren’t on a first name basis,” Katya laughed shyly, feeling like she had completely fucked up. “I’m not a country music person.”

Trixie scoffed as they began their ascent.

“It’s okay,” Trixie began. “You’re cute and I’m sure you have a lot to offer. So I’ll let this one pass.”

Katya turned back to look at Trixie, pausing two steps ahead of her. 

“I don’t, but I’ll let you keep believing I do,” Katya said, staring into Trixie’s eyes. There was a slight shift in the brown and then Trixie was smiling and muttering a _“I can’t wait until you prove yourself wrong.”_  

They kept walking and Katya was pleasantly surprised when they stopped at the third floor landing and Katya had announced her floor and Trixie had responded with a _“I’m going to apartment 316 which I’m assuming is on the third floor?”_

They stepped out together and paused in front of 316.

“If I wanted to find you, where would I go?” Trixie motioned down the hall, eyes scanning each of the doors.

“320,” Katya stated, pointing down at the door two to their left. It was the last door of the hallway.

“Perfect,” Trixie smiled and leaned against the wall next to the door. “I enjoyed this little chat.”

“I did too,” Katya leaned against the opposite wall. Smiling a little smile at the butterflies flying between her stomach and heart. “Are you going to call me?”

“Oh, fully yes.”

“Then I’ll talk to you later?” Katya teased as she pushed herself off the wall, walking backwards to her front door.

“Yes,” Trixie watched with amused eyes as Katya paused to fish her keys out of the pocket she had stupidly put them in after she stepped into the building.

Katya paused at her door, giving Trixie one last smile before placing her keys in lock.

“Stop looking at me!” Katya called down the hallway as she turned her key in the wrong direction.

Trixie’s screech of a laugh rang through the hallway and she knocked on the door in front of her as Katya unlocked her own. The door in front of Trixie opened immediately, in perfect time with Katya opening her own.

They shared another secret smile before arms were pulling Trixie into a hug and the shouts from the party filled the hallway.

Katya closed and locked her door with a lightness in her heart that she honestly hadn’t expected to feel.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anya may be my favorite character that I've ever written. (Anya because i am Anastasia trash. Anastasia is a better movie than 98% of the disney ones and i'll fight you on that)
> 
> You can harass me on tumblr [here](https://samwhambam.tumblr.com/) ! I'm a monster with nothing to offer but I can be funny sometimes.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trixie was standing in the middle of the hallway, playing with the end of a curl. When she turned to face Katya, her teeth released her bottom lip from their hold and her lips twisted into an unsure smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to @2atoms who gave this a read earlier and helped me feel like it was ready to be posted! Her fics can be found [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/2Atoms/pseuds/2Atoms/works?fandom_id=447977/)!
> 
> I made a cute lil spotify playlist to go along with this chapter because there are a lot of song lyrics referenced (Ms. Dolly Parton owns them and my heart). If you want to listen along as you read, it can be found [here](https://open.spotify.com/user/94samantha.b/playlist/6lpQSzOlUHl588dWDLdUM4?si=E1gim4gkTkCsA5nMa3wuTg/)!
> 
> happy reading!
> 
> also i apologize if the format is messed up. if it is, i'll come back and fix it tomorrow!

Katya was leaning against the counter, one hip cocked, with her eyes watching the countdown on her phone. Next to her phone was the piercing aftercare sheet Trixie had given her.  _ 15 minutes of a salt soak once a day will help keep it clean,  _ Trixie had said _.  _ Which Katya’s mind had warped into  _ 15 minutes so you don’t get an infection and your nipples don’t fall off.  _

_ 33, 32, 31 ... _

Her phone screen changed, turning black before an unknown number popped up, the shrill ringing startled her even though she saw it coming. Her hand had jerked and the cup of salt water she was holding against her breast broke its vacuum seal against her skin and the water sloshed down her front. She cursed as the warm water soaked through the hip of her underwear. 

She contemplated letting the phone ring until it reached voicemail but then the spring in her mind snapped and she jumped for it. 

_ Trixie. _

“Hello?” Katya answered, her heart beating in her throat. She cursed at herself for the break in her voice, the ‘o’ high and whiny and too young for her.

“Hey,” Trixie responded. There was a moment of silence as Katya waited for Trixie to continue. Katya could hear Trixie breathing, the inhale and exhales slow and even. Katya matched hers to Trixies, waiting for Trixie to say something. The timer on her phone went off and she pulled the phone from her ear quickly, swiping the screen to silence it. 

“What’re you doing?” Trixie finally spoke. There was nothing in the background. No noise that Katya expected from a drunken party. 

“Just finished doing some salt soaks,” Katya responded, catching a drip of water with an index finger before it could melt into the waistband of her panties. She placed the cup she used in the sink, the soft  _ clink  _ disguising the soft knock on her front door.

“So you’re not busy? No plans for the night?” Trixie asked and it clicked in Katya’s mind. 

“Nope,” The ‘p’ popped in Katya’s mouth and she rushed to her bedroom. She pulled on the pair of pajama shorts she had abandoned the day before and grabbed an oversized shirt. 

“Can I come over?” Trixie asked, her voice low and quiet and suddenly unsure. 

“Please do,” Katya straightened out the shirt with one hand.

“I’m outside your door.”

“I know,” Katya smiled as she hung up, pulling the shirt on quickly. She pulled open the front door as she pulled her hair out of the collar. 

Trixie was standing in the middle of the hallway, playing with the end of a curl. When she turned to face Katya, her teeth released her bottom lip from their hold and her lips twisted into an unsure smile.

“Sorry, is this creepy?” Trixie asked with furrowed eyebrows. There was a blush over her cheeks and across her nose. “My friends told me this was a little creepy, but I felt the need to come over and see you.”

“It’s not,” Katya smiled as she leaned against her doorframe. 

“If you were an outsider looking in, would you still say it’s not creepy?” Trixie crossed her arms behind her back. “Full disclosure I have had some drinks but I’m only a little tipsy.”

“It could be worse,” Katya threw her head back with a laugh, Trixie joining her. Their laughter filled the still air and Trixie relaxed. Her arms fell to her side and she smiled at Katya. 

The door two down opened, a head popped out and suddenly Pearl was smirking at them, yelling a  _ ‘can you two please learn how to laugh?!’  _ before disappearing back into the apartment. Katya shook her head, pushing herself off the doorframe. 

“Come in?” Katya said as she stepped back through her door, turning her body so she was out of Trixie’s way. 

Trixie walked past her, pausing inside the apartment. She waited until Katya closed the door and followed her deeper.

“Do you want anything to drink? I don’t keep alcohol in the house,” Katya asked, she motioned towards the visible kitchen. “I have an assortment of juices, teas. I can make coffee.”

“Just water would be great,” Trixie responded as she walked through the open space to the couch. She sat down, folding her legs underneath her body. She twisted herself around, folding her arms over the back of the couch to watch Katya in the kitchen. 

“Ice?” Katya asked as she held up an empty cup. 

“Please,” Trixie hummed in appreciation. She eyed Katya, taking in the long lines of her legs and her bare arms.

Katya smirked as she felt the eyes on her. She filled the cup with tap water and when she was walking back she saw a question forming in Trixie’s eyes. When Katya sat on the opposite end of the couch, her back against the arm rest, Trixie turned back to face her, one arm still running along the back of the couch. Her other hand held the cup of water. She swirled the clear liquid around, the ice clinking against the side. 

“I like your tattoos,” Trixie smiled at Katya. Katya held her arms out, twisting them to try to show off the art. Trixie just giggled at Katya who thanked her for the compliment, still trying to look at her own arms. Katya let her arms fall to her side. 

“They’re the temperance and devil tarot cards,” Katya said with a smile. “I fucking hate needles. So, it was hard to do.”

Trixie laughed. “And yet you let me pierce your nipples?”

“That’s a story for another time,” Katya felt the embarrassment flood her chest, could feel her skin turn red and splotchy.

Trixie just smiled at her, letting her take her time. 

“Can I see your left arm?” Katya tapped her fingers against her bare thighs. A flash of Trixie saying no crossed through her mind and she could feel herself deflate. 

“Of course!” Trixie perked up as she held out her left arm towards Katya. 

Katya marveled at the ink. There was a sprig of lavender that ran along the hard edge of her forearm. Inside her left bicep was a simple line drawing of a mountain range adorned with small trees and a rushing river cutting through the scene. Absentmindedly, Katya trailed her fingers over the straight lines of what looked like a musical instrument. 

“It’s an autoharp,” Trixie said as Katya’s eyebrows furrowed in attempt to make out the shape. “I’ve played since I was a kid. My grandma bought one from a yard sale when I was small. She told me that Dolly Parton knew how to play it and she thought it would look good in my arms. She said it was so cheap. That the owner didn’t even know what it was.”

“It’s beautiful,” Katya marveled at Trixie, gently grabbing her hand and twisting her arm around to examine all the tattoos.

“Thank you,” Trixie smiled down at her own tattoos. “I’ve been wanting a new tattoo, but I’m not sure what I want next.”

Trixie pulled her arm back, letting go of Katya’s hand. She stretched out her left leg, placing her bare foot on top of Katya’s bare legs. 

“This is one of the first tattoos I got,” Trixie placed her cup down on the coffee table, then reached forward, running her right index finger over the ‘GRL PWR’ tattoo on her inner left ankle. A dainty hand formed a peace sign over the words, the acrylic nails on the hand sharp and defined. 

Katya almost placed her hand on Trixie’s ankle, ready to stroke the soft skin, but then Trixie was moving again and her other leg was maneuvered in front of Katya. Trixie lifted the edge of her skirt and a large tattoo of a bee covered most of her right thigh. A honeycomb pattern tattooed behind the bee had little drops of honey dripping down. Katya gasped at the beauty, her hand already halfway between her and Trixie before she paused.

“May I?” Katya asked, gesturing to the tattoo. She looked up at Trixie who was nibbling on her bottom lip, her eyes dark and cloudy. She nodded when she noticed Katya staring at her. 

Katya gently stroked the tattoo, her fingers sliding easily against the soft skin. Trixie’s thigh was soft and hard and Katya knew she worked out, spent time at the gym running. Or even lifting weights. She knew muscle. Saw the different ways muscle formed when she was still teaching yoga on the side, when different people came to add yoga as a supplement to their primary exercise. She wanted to bet money that Trixie was a runner, wanted to be right. 

“The same grandma had a beehive. She used to make me help her. Loved it when I was young, hated it when I was a teen and had to be out in the sun helping her. Loved it again after I left for college,” Trixie was smiling again, lost in her memories. 

Katya stayed silent, instead she watched Trixie go down memory lane. The happiness in her face turning to a hardened sadness that disappeared when Trixie shook her head. 

“There’s also one on my back. If you’re lucky, you’ll see it one day,” Trixie joked, throwing Katya a wink. 

Trixie started to pull her right leg back, but Katya’s fingers quickly circled around her ankle, holding it briefly in place before letting go, letting Trixie decide what was next. Trixie left her leg where it was and smiled at Katya as Katya began to stroke lightly at her ankle. 

Katya winced at the silence that began to settle between them. Trixie seemed content to sit in it, her head resting on the back of the couch, just staring at Katya. She tried to stamp the panic down, hold it at bay.  _ If Trixie is okay, you’re okay.  _ But with each silent second that ticked by, Katya convinced herself more and more that it wasn’t going to work. Whatever was happening, wouldn’t work. The flirting she had managed would end and then Katya would be left again, without a potential person to give all the love she had stored in her body. She would die alone and she didn’t even have a cat to benefit off her death. 

“How was your party?” Katya asked, too afraid of the silence.

“It was good!” Trixie exclaimed before taking a break to drink almost half of her water. “We all see each other often, so it wasn’t anything special. Just a housewarming party. Everyone was on the road to getting really drunk and I was having a great time.”

Trixie paused and Katya knew that she was fucked. She was already hanging off of every word Trixie was saying. She wasn’t scared of being in the same room as her anymore, in fact she didn’t want her to leave. She wanted to scoff at herself, tell herself to grow up.  _ You don’t even know her.  _ But there was enough intrigue for her to want Trixie to stay. Give her every detail about her life so Katya had a reason to either fall in love with her or ghost her completely. 

“I was having a great time but I kept thinking about you and how our conversation wasn’t over,” Trixie fiddled with the glass she hadn’t put back down. She looked up, caught Katya’s eyes and Katya lost her breath. “I couldn’t sit there knowing that you and I weren’t done talking and my tipsy brain convinced me that waiting to talk to you was going to be the worst idea I’ve ever had.”

Katya couldn’t help but smile. She tried to fight the urge as her lips spread to show off her pearly whites. 

“You decided you couldn’t let the country thing go?” Katya teased as she wrapped her fingers around Trixie’s ankle, digging her fingertips lightly into her skin.

“I can let that go! That’s not what bothered me and lingered!” Trixie threw her hands up in the air.

“Was it the Dolly Parton thing?” Katya said, trying to keep only the serious tones in her voice. 

“Yes!” Trixie screeched, her eyes wide and bright. “I think you’re beautiful and you have a sexy body and you seem pretty clever, but I can’t decide to be into you until you know and understand Dolly.”

“You think I’m beautiful?” Katya asked, a smirk starting to sprout across her face.

“Yes!” Trixie exclaimed again.

“And you think I’m sexy?” Katya asked. 

“Yes!” Trixie screeched again. 

“You barely know me,” Katya laughed. 

“I know. And that probably makes me seem creepy, but I tend to have a good judge in character and I’m convinced you’re worth the risk of seeming creepy over,” Trixie laughed at herself before chugging the rest of the glass. She held the glass up. “I’m going to get more.”

She started to get up, but Katya gripped onto her leg harder. Trixie froze before lowering her body back down.

“I’ll get it for you,” Katya offered as she stood up, placing Trixie’s leg back on the couch. She grabbed the cup, waving off Trixie’s comment of “ _ I don’t mind getting it.”  _

When Katya came back, Trixie was placing her phone back on the table, face down. She accepted the cup with a hushed  _ ‘thank you.’  _

“I just texted Pearl saying that you didn’t think I was creepy,” Trixie laughed at herself. “She thinks you don’t like her. Says she doesn’t know why.”

“I- uh- um,” Katya fumbled as she tried to put a sentence together. She closed her eyes, trying to keep herself from feeling like she was being scolded. 

“I told her that if you don’t like her, it’s for a valid reason. Told her she was a bitch and deserved it,” Trixie said, placing a hand on Katya’s knee before she burst into laughter. 

The apartment filled with her screech and Katya wanted it to keep bouncing off the walls, to hit her on all sides. She never wanted it to go away. She wanted it to be there when she went to sleep and still bouncing when she woke up. Katya let her heart fill with hope that Trixie stayed with her that night. What she had categorized as a playground crush had morphed into a real crush bordering on infatuation.

“I don’t hate her,” Is what Katya settled on. 

Trixie just stared at Katya, raising an eyebrow. 

“I don’t!” Katya clarified. 

“Okay,” Trixie sighed as she sunk further into the couch. “I’m just saying, if you did I wouldn’t blame you. I’ve known her since college and even I get annoyed with her pothead disposition every now and again.”

“I was just a nervous wreck when I came in and I think that just set us off on the wrong foot,” Katya explained, fiddling with the cuticle on her fingers. She pushed back lightly with her nail, watching the translucent skin bunch up. 

“Can I ask why you came in?” Trixie asked as she stretched out again, digging her pink polished toes into Katya’s thigh. Her skirt bunched up around her upper thighs as she moved and the bottom half of the bee was visible again and Katya was still mesmerized by the intricate line work. 

“Oh God,” Katya lifted her eyes from the tattoo and focused on Trixie’s heavily lined eyes. The sparkly eyeshadow was distracting, but Katya held her gaze. “It’s so embarrassing and I’ll tell you the story later. I’ll say it at the end of the night. Or farther into the future.”

“Okay!” 

And then the silence was back. Katya had almost expected a bit more of a push and pull, Trixie asking again for the story, but her elusiveness didn’t seem to bother her. Trixie pulled a blanket off of the back of the couch, the thinnest one Katya owned and draped it over her lap. Katya watched Trixie get comfortable and every ounce of anxiety flooded out of her body at the image. Trixie hadn’t gotten up to leave yet, instead made herself more comfortable. Her shoes had been kicked under the coffee table, her phone abandoned and not looked at. 

_ She wants to be here.  _

“Okay, back to this Dolly Parton thing,” Katya started.

And then Trixie was off.

*

“I did not know she wrote ‘I Will Always Love You’!” Katya had exclaimed 40 minutes later. She had one leg curled underneath her, one foot on the ground and she had shifted so she was leaning towards Trixie. 

“Not many people do!” Trixie screeched back. She slapped her knee as she continued. “She wrote it on the same day that she wrote Jolene!”

“That’s amazing,” Katya laughed at Trixie’s excitement. Her eyes had widened and a cheesy grin had formed on her face at Katya’s affirmation. 

“It is!” Trixie was bouncing in her seat, her hair had steadily deflated through the night but the bouncing caused her life-less curls to spring back to life, her side-swept bangs trickling back onto her forehead before she pushed them to the side again. 

Trixie continued, “She also started this program called Imagination Library where she sends free books to kids who sign up for this program. A book a month! That’s so many!”

Katya marveled at the energy and passion flowing through Trixie. It was contagious and Katya found herself reaching for her phone. Her hand was in mid-air before she realized she left it on her dresser when she changed quickly. 

“Can you be my google and tell me more? I left my phone in my room,” Katya pouted and Trixie exclaimed another happy  _ ‘yes!’  _ and kept going. 

30 minutes later and Trixie had put on her  _ ‘70’s dolly’  _ playlist for Katya.

“We’re doing 70’s dolly because it’s a little more folky than her 90’s stuff. Which, her later stuff kind of models the country that most people don’t like when they say they say they don’t like country,” She had mumbled as she tapped around on her phone. She had looked up at Katya before she hit  _ ‘shuffle’  _ her eyes asking for permission and Katya had nodded. 

She had nodded and she realized that she would do pretty much anything Trixie asked. Two hours with Trixie and she was smitten. She was fucked and there was nothing to do about it and she didn’t want to do anything about it. 

Katya was comfortable. 

The opening chords of a song played and Katya cringed at the subtle country twang, but by the time Dolly had started singing, the laid back, drum driven beat had Katya back on board. 

_ If you’ve been wondering, what I’m gonna do _

_ While you are sleepin’, am I sleepin’, too _

_ Well I’m just sittin’ here lovin’ you _

_ Close my eyes an’ lovin’ you _

_ I’m just sittin’ back, sittin’ here lovin’ you _

Trixie had snuggled further into the back of the couch, her eyes closed with a faint smile on her lips. Katya watched her until she opened her eyes again and Trixie smiled even wider. 

“What kind of music do you like?” She asked Katya softly, her voice not breaking through Dolly’s. 

“Um. I’m not the biggest music person, actually,” Katya confessed and she felt her heart still as she waited for Trixie’s dramatic response. When nothing happened, she continued. “I like rock, some pop, some R&B, classical music, the Russian pop music my parents used to play when I was younger.”

Trixie hummed along in appreciation to Katya’s list. 

“But, I don’t know, I’ve never found something that really resonated with me,” Katya had shrugged at the end. 

“Okay,” Trixie had responded.  _ Okay.  _ So simple and accepting and Katya felt less strange for her quirk.

Usually people would scoff, claim that  _ ‘no one doesn’t like music, Katya.’  _ One more hurdle and then Katya could completely breathe easily. One more band-aid to rip off before she could think about starting something with Trixie.

“I’ve struggled with addiction in the past. I’ve been sober for the past 6 years. Music was always so easy to tune out to me. People say that music is their distraction and it helped them through the hardest times in their life. But, that never worked for me,” Katya explained. She hadn’t looked Trixie in the eye since she had said  _ ‘okay’  _ and she could feel Trixie staring at her, boring holes into the side of her face. 

“I listen to music in the car to fill the silence if I’ve had a hard day, but usually I listen to podcasts. Or audiobooks, but I prefer to read.”

Katya finally looked up at Trixie and was surprised to see the small smile had never slipped off her face. 

The song in the background switched, and Katya was happy to focus on something else, paying attention to the simple bass and drum beat. She focused on the lyrics, waiting for Trixie to say something, anything. 

_ My life is likened to a bargain store _

_ And I may have just what you’re lookin’ for _

_ If you don’t mind the fact that all the merchandise is used _

_ But with a little mending it could be as good as new _

“Thank you for sharing that with me,” Trixie said, breaking the silence between them.  

Katya looked up, trying to not show the surprise at the accepting tone of Trixie’s voice. Trixie’s hand met Katya’s, both stretched towards each other along the back of the couch. 

“This is usually the part where potential significant others run screaming,” Katya states, unsure of what to do next. It rarely went beyond this point. She thinks of the countless “girlfriends” that she lasted a couple of months, the ones that she hid the truth from. Things would be hot and heavy for two months, then as soon as she confided in them, the flame would extinguish alarmingly fast. 

“Well, your lack of Dolly knowledge makes you a charity case in my eyes and I have to help you with that,” Trixie winked. “It’s my civic duty.”

“Much more important than your right to vote,” Katya bantered back and then Trixie was laughing again.

*

“So, you’re 36, born in Boston. Russian family,” Trixie stated. 

“You’re 31, born in a small town in the woods in Wisconsin but I already forgot what it’s called and part Native American,” Katya mirrored Trixie’s response, smiling with pride although she already forgot half of what Trixie had told her. 

Trixie held up her index fingers, mouth agape, closing it when the instrumental break of the song started. Trixie sang along, twirling her fingers around. 

_ Got no strings to tie me down, got no cause to hang around _

_ What difference does it make which way I go _

Trixie held out the  _ ‘go’  _ much longer than Dolly did and Katya couldn’t help but laugh at her.

“That’s some good shit,” Trixie mused, a dreamy look on her face. “Anyways, back to the important stuff.”

Trixie sat up straight, her shoulders back, posture perfect. Katya mirrored her. 

“What’re your kinks?” Trixie asked and Katya tried to keep a straight face, she really did, but the laughter bubbled up inside of her and she couldn’t hold it back. 

“The important stuff!” Katya laughed. Through her watery eyes she could see Trixie covering her own mouth, trying not to laugh along. 

“Well, bitch!” 

“Oh God,” Katya wiped the tears from underneath her eyes. “Mostly BDSM stuff. I like it rough.”

“Okay,” Trixie nodded, deep in thought. “Anything you won’t do?”

“Not really. I’ve always said I’ll try anything twice. The first time to try it and then the second time to decide if I like it or not!” Katya shrugged. “I’m open to anything.”

The song switched again and it was the only one Katya could name, although,  _ who couldn’t name Jolene?  _

There was a slight smile on Trixie’s face, her bottom lip in between her teeth. She was staring off into space and Katya couldn’t help but leave her be. When she snapped out of it, she released her lip from her teeth, shaking her head as her eyelashes fluttered.

“What about you?” Katya asked, her hand idly stroking Trixie’s thigh, her legs back to being draped over Katya’s. 

“Oh. I fully love being humiliated. I am here for BDSM, although I like it it a little heavier on the masochism side. I love watersports,” Trixie counted off on her fingers, each new kink a bullet point on her list and another finger ticked off. “Literally fucking pee on me and call me a slut and i’m done. Dripping and then squirting all over the sheets.”

Trixie laughed at herself and Katya’s mouth ran dry. She swallowed, trying to rewet her mouth, but Trixie was naming off a few more things and Katya had to try hard to keep her mind from creating images of Trixie in compromising positions. 

“I love being bratty in bed, because I LOVE that moment when the person I’m sleeping with has to shut me up,” Trixie sighed and then her legs pressed together just the slightest amount, but Katya picked up on it. 

She was prepared to do anything Trixie asked her to do. Whatever she needed, Katya would gladly do for her. 

“Anything else?” Katya asked, her voice dry and raspy. 

“I like being slapped around. I’ve never been fisted, but only because every lady I’ve ever had sex with was too scared to do it,” Trixie said, a tone of annoyance prevalent in her voice. 

“Okay,” Katya nodded, trying to find words, any words, that she could string together into a sentence. 

“I like being watched, but only by my partner. Like, I’m not big on public sex. But I will masturbate for my partner at any time,” Trixie concluded. She coughed lightly as she looked away from Katya. 

“I’m going to get more water,” Trixie said as she stood up abruptly, grabbing for her empty cup. 

“Yeah, I’m going to smoke a cigarette real quick,” Katya got up, searching frantically through her purse for her pack of smokes before stepping outside to calm her nerves.

*

“This song is called Shattered Image and it’s one of my favorites,” Trixie said as she walked back from the bathroom, her hair pulled up into a bun on the top of her head. She was rubbing her face with a makeup wipe. “I made myself at home and found your makeup remover.”

“That’s fine,” Katya called from the kitchen where she was making Trixie tea. 

The music got louder and Trixie danced into the kitchen. She began to sing as she swayed her hips from side to side. 

_ If you live in a glass house, don’t throw stones _

_ Don’t shatter my image ‘til you look at your own _

_ Look at your reflection in your house of glass _

_ Don’t open my closet if your own’s full of trash _

_ Stay out of my closet if your own’s full of trash _

Trixie’s voice was strong and even, and she grabbed the jar of honey from Katya’s hands and twisted it open, scooping out a spoonful. She licked the mountain of honey, nodding in approval before stirring her spoon into the cup Katya handed her. 

_ A long time gone and a long time ago _

_ When I shattered my image with the rocks I’d throw _

_ The world is cruel and people are cold _

_ They shatter my image with the rocks they throw _

_ Shatter my image with the rocks they throw _

Trixie took her cup and danced her way back into the living room, this time sitting on the floor with her legs spread in front of her. Katya followed her, cup of decaf coffee in hand. The clock was ticking close to midnight and Katya had already accepted that Saturday was going to be long and sluggish.

“So gymnastics, but you hated being competitive, so that turned into being a yoga teacher during your early 20’s,” Trixie repeated. “What got you into being a florist?”

Katya cleared her throat as the song changed, trying to piece together her response. The soft and gentle plucking of a guitar filled her senses. She lowered herself onto the floor and began to stretch her stiff limbs. The couch had been comfortable, but her joints were beginning to ache from being in the same position for hours. 

_ Love is like a butterfly, as soft and gentle as a sigh.  _

“My grandmother loved flowers. When she was still able, she had a garden full of flowers. Even when it was winter and fucking cold and snowing she still had something budding,” The warmth of the memories of her grandmother filled Katya’s heart, the peace and love felt in her hugs heated Katya’s skin and she couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips. “When she died, I was fucking wrecked. And at her funeral, my mom went all out and honored her by having the most beautiful flowers and arrangements and it’s never left me.”

“That’s beautiful,” Trixie commented, she sipped at her tea, the steam rising above her bare face. 

Trixie without makeup had mystified Katya. Trixie with makeup was stunning. Her contour perfect, cheeks blushed the right amount. Her eyeliner was long and sharp, false lashes applied so perfectly that Katya had taken extra time to put hers on that morning, trying to replicate it on herself. Her lips were lined to be deliciously plump and perfect. But Trixie without makeup was even more beautiful. 

Her skin was naturally rosy, making her look happy even when she wasn’t smiling. Her blonde eyelashes framed her brown eyes and fluttered just as seductively as they did when they were long and dark. Her cupids bow was just as defined, even though her lips and a little sliver of skin around them were still stained pink. 

“Why tattoos?” Katya asked in return. 

“I’m not sure. I’ve always been creative and loved sketching. I was really into calligraphy and I don’t know. Drawing just was something I did and was good at. Went to art school. Worked at a tattoo shop in Milwaukee to support myself while I was in college doing a receptionist job and I don’t know, things just started happening and now I’m here, 11 years later,” Trixie trailed off, waving a hard in the air. “I think I’ve always been attracted to the permanence of them. They’re there. Forever. Of all the art I’ve ever created, if it was on paper or digital, I ended up getting rid of most of it. But, can’t get of a tattoo unless you try really hard.”

“The look on someone’s face when you show them their finished tattoo, it’s priceless. Especially when it means a lot to them, like it’s not just a tattoo for aesthetic,” Trixie broke off. “There’s something rewarding in it.”

They settled into complete silence, the playlist having reached its end. Trixie fiddled with her phone and it started again, Katya recognized the song as one that played an hour earlier. 

_ Somewhere a river of happiness flows, we’ll sit on its banks while the warm breezes blow. _

Trixie was humming along before she trailed off. 

“Okay, you don’t like music. You love flowers and yoga, you do your makeup the way you do because your younger sister bullied you about it,” Trixie listed off again. “Are you a movie buff?”

Katya leaned back, feeling the excitement bubble up inside her chest. 

“Clue is the best fucking movie ever and I will fight you if you disagree!” Katya had exclaimed, her excitement almost knocking her over as she teetered on the edge of her ass. 

*

“Mint chocolate chip is the fucking worst!” Trixie argued. She was sitting the closest she had been to Katya all night. Her voice was a little too loud so close to Katya, but she had laughed at it instead of cringing how she would’ve if it was anyone else.

“It’s so good!” Katya argued back, laughing at the disgusted face Trixie pulled. 

“It is truly awful,” Trixie batted back as she slowly lowered her body so she was laying down on the scratchy carpet. 

“Okay. What’re your feelings on fruity toothpaste?” Katya mirrored Trixie’s new position, their bodies running parallel. 

“What?! THAT’S A THING?!” Trixie grasped her heart in horror. “I am personally offended by that.”

“I’m so happy you said that,” Katya laughed her noiseless laugh and Trixie joined her. 

*

Time felt like it was standing still, Katya and Trixie had scooted closer to each other, half a foot of space running between their bodies. They were facing each other, with pillows Katya had grabbed off the couch, under their heads. 

“Biggest fear?” Trixie asked, her voice low and soft. The music had turned off again and they had left it alone, the phone too far for either of them to bother reaching for.

“I’m scared of everything,” Katya huffed. “But in all honesty, it’s relapsing.”

Trixie reached out, brushing a hand through the hair framing Katya’s face. Her long nails scratched against Katya’s scalp and her skin tingled at the sensation. 

“I started my business from scratch, and my family just recently started trusting me again. I’m healthier than I’ve ever been. I’m happy more often than I used to be,” Katya sniffled as an unexpected tear escaped her right eye. She screwed her eyes shut, which only blinked out more. “I’m so scared that one stupid decision is going to fuck up all the progress I’ve made. That I’ll lose everything I’ve worked so so hard for.”

Katya felt Trixie’s hand slide around to the back of her head, and a gentle tug pulled her closer. She moved with it, feeling her body get enveloped by Trixie’s arms. Her head was tucked into Trixie’s neck and she could feel her tears lubricating where their skin met. 

“Do you want to use again?” Trixie asked. One hand was rubbing at Katya’s back and she could feel the other one scratching against her scalp.

“No, I haven’t felt the urge in a long time,” Katya whispered.

“Then, I think you need to have a little more faith in yourself,” Trixie said.

Katya wanted to scream that it wasn’t that easy. It wasn’t that simple. But her eyelids were heavy and she could feel the late night tingle in her fingers for a cigarette. 

“Katya, could I sleep here?” Trixie asked, her nails still scratching in circles. “I don’t know what time it is, but I’m sure it’s really late and I’m too tired to drive home. If you don’t want me to--”

“Shh,” Katya cut her off. “Of course you can.”

“Thank you.”

They relaxed in the silence before Trixie patted Katya on the back.

“Let me lay down on the couch. We can keep talking, but I’ll probably fall asleep soon,” Trixie said as she nudged Katya gently.

“No, take my bed. I’ll sleep out here,” Katya mumbled as she rolled off of Trixie, laying on her back for a second before she rocked herself to a sitting position. The light was bright and she had to squint against it to see properly.

“Well, in that case,” Trixie stood up, holding her hand out to Katya who gently grasped her hand and pulled herself up. “We can share your bed.”

Katya just nodded. She tugged Trixie towards her bedroom. Katya noticed the wrinkles that had formed in Trixie’s dress, the soft pink fabric kinked in areas it shouldn’t be. She let go of her hand, pulling open her dresser drawers instead, finding one of her oversized shirts. 

“Do you want bottoms too?” Katya asked Trixie, who had already sat on her bed. She tossed the shirt to Trixie, who caught it. 

“No, this is fine,” Trixie stood up and before she could start to change, Katya excused herself for a cigarette. 

Katya grabbed a cigarette on her way out onto the balcony. When she had been looking for an apartment, a balcony to smoke on had been on her must-have list. The long balcony with the apartment’s open floor plan had sold her on it immediately. The soft breeze tickled at her and goosebumps erupted over every inch of uncovered skin. 

She could hear Trixie walking around inside, and she turned to face the door, her back against the railing. Trixie was picking up their glasses, taking them into the kitchen. Trixie was in her shirt, legs bare and her panties just barely covered. Trixie had listened to her, let her cry on her and she was still there. Insisting that they share a space that night. Trixie was still here and Katya had a feeling that she still would be in the morning. 

Katya put out her cigarette, leaving the butt in the ashtray she left outside. When she walked back in, she locked the door, turning off the lights as she made her way through her living space and past the open bedroom door. She brushed her teeth and took off her makeup in record time. 

Trixie was sitting in the middle of the bed, her knees bent with her arms wrapped around her legs. Katya grabbed her phone off the dresser, the screen coming to life as she lifted it up.

_ 2:50 am and a slew of notifications  _

“I wasn’t sure what side you wanted,” She shrugged as Katya finally approached the bed. 

“Doesn’t matter,” She said and she watched Trixie scoot to one side. 

She plugged her phone in, asked Trixie what time she needed to be up, alarms were set, the light turned off and then they were alone in the dark.

“Thank you for letting me come over,” Trixie said. “Will you hold my hand?”

Katya felt a shift in the bed, could hear Trixie’s hand sliding against the sheets, coming to a stop in between them. Katya mirrored her movements, grabbing at Trixie’s hand blindly. She pulled their hands up, above the covers and then to her mouth. She placed a kiss against the smooth skin and she heard Trixie sigh. Trixie pulled Katya’s hand closer to her and Katya shifted closer. She rolled over at the push of Trixie’s hand and she pressed her back against Trixie, whose arm draped over her waist. 

“Thank you for coming over. I had a great time and I have a giant crush on you,” Katya murmured. She could feel Trixie laughing behind her. 

“Can I take you on a date? A real one. Maybe this weekend or early next week?” Trixie asked and Katya could feel her heart beating frantically in her chest. 

“Fuck, yes,” Katya responded but then froze when she remembered her promise. “First, I gotta tell you why I got my nipples pierced.”

“Oh, yes! Please!” Trixie pulled Katya closer to her. Katya could feel Trixie’s lips against her hair and she felt like she was dying. 

“So, I’ve seen you a couple times while I’ve been at the new shop,” Katya started. She opened her mouth to continue but Trixie cut her off.

“Oh, I remember seeing you multiple times. Your teeth are very memorable,” Trixie said and Katya couldn’t help but laugh. 

“I saw you a bunch of times and I was kind of obsessed. And I thought you were very attractive, I think you’re even more attractive after tonight,” Katya continued. Trixie hummed in encouragement. “And then that day, I was checking up on the shop, but I didn’t want them to see me, so I was hanging out closer to your door. Then someone stepped out, and scared me and then they thought I was going in so they held the door open. And then, one thing led to another and I was standing in there and Pearl asked why I was there and then I panicked and all I could think of was nipple piercings.”

Trixie laughed into Katya’s hair, her nose digging against her scalp. “That’s so cute.”

“And I was going to make up an excuse to leave but then you came out and I knew I couldn’t leave even if I wanted to,” Katya finished. “My anxiety was extremely bad that day and I thought I came off super weird. So I was scared that I creeped you out.”

“You didn’t,” Trixie was quick to reassure her. “I still want to take you on a date. Let’s plan it in the morning and pick a time and day then.”

“Sounds perfect,” Katya said as her eyes began to close. She had been fighting sleep for hours, but now with Trixie’s warm body pressed against her back and her lips pressed to the back of her head, she couldn’t help it.

She fell asleep right after another squeeze from a very tired Trixie and a whispered  _ ‘goodnight’  _ between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you made it all the way to the end and are interested in the spotify playlist and don't wanna scroll up, [here it is again](https://open.spotify.com/user/94samantha.b/playlist/6lpQSzOlUHl588dWDLdUM4?si=E1gim4gkTkCsA5nMa3wuTg/)!
> 
> You can find me on tumblr [here](https://samwhambam.tumblr.com/)! Come talk to me about the fic or RPDR or trixya. I'm not scary <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trixie turned so her body was facing Katya’s. Katya mirrored her image and she imagined herself closing the space, kissing her there in her apartment parking lot. But the setting didn’t match the sweet woman standing in front of her. In a heartbeat, her brain moved them to somewhere in the city. At night with the lights a blur behind Trixie. Outside with the late March evening breeze. The type of breeze that made you wish you weren’t wearing your light jacket, but wasn’t cold enough for a coat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a pain and I swear I forgot how to write, but I think I pulled it together at the end. 
> 
> The playlist that I made for this fic can be found [here](https://open.spotify.com/user/94samantha.b/playlist/6lpQSzOlUHl588dWDLdUM4?si=E1gim4gkTkCsA5nMa3wuTg/)! Let me know if any of you listen to it! I can add more songs to it that help shape the tone of the fic (that aren't just dolly. but honestly 80% of what I listen to nowadays is dolly parton soooo).

“Wow, you look worse than normal,” Ginger commented as Katya walked into the shop. “You look like that one half-bodied zombie from the walking dead.”

“I haven’t seen the walking dead,” Katya yawned around her words, the ‘dead’ coming out silent. Her bag slapped against her hip and she drank from the disposable starbucks cup that she had ordered drive-thru style.

“You don’t need to, just look in the mirror,” Ginger cackled at her own joke. Even Blair behind her couldn’t help but giggle, but none of it phased Katya. Instead she ditched her bag behind the counter, sitting in the lone stool.

“Blair. Just pretend like I’m not here. As long as you do well today, you’ll be good to officially work on your own,” Katya waved her hand around, and then Blair scurried off to organize shelves. 

“Long night?” Ginger asked as she joined Katya behind the counter. 

“Good night,” Katya said, a smile gracing her face. She pulled at her eyelashes, trying to brush the clumps of mascara out that she had noticed in her rearview mirror.

“Are you going to tell me about it?” Ginger prodded as she leaned back against the counter, her arms crossed against her chest. Ginger looked well rested, Katya noticed. She always seemed at peace, something which Katya couldn’t help but be envious about. 

“One thing led to another and Trixie came over,” Katya said before slurping at her coffee. The cup was almost empty and she was regretting not going for the largest size. 

“And you were up all night fuckin’?” Ginger picked up, a smirk crawling across her skinny lips. “You finally got your pussy touched by something that wasn’t your bony, cold fingers?”

“Nope!” Katya’s lips popped on the ‘p’ and she couldn’t hide the smile. It was wide and genuine and Katya tried not to focus on the crow’s feet she knew were wide and deep and more than visible. For the last two months, Katya had been obsessing over her signs of aging. The last time she had a solid morning of yoga, she had spent most of it folded up into a pretzel while checking her legs for spider veins. 

“You didn’t fuck? Did you make out?” Ginger asked and Katya could see Blair behind her, trying to look busy. 

“Nope. We stayed up until 3 am talking. Talked about everything. Then we were both falling asleep and we moved to my bed, shared it innocently. Cuddled a little bit,” Katya said. She knew Ginger was going to ask if she talked about her sobriety, so she hurried to continue. “Then we woke up this morning, made food really quickly. Ate. Then she left.”

Katya left out the details of Trixie making breakfast, singing along to another Dolly playlist. She danced in front of the stove, her hair in a nicer, neater bun. She was still in Katya’s t-shirt and when she danced there were little flashes of her pink panties. Katya had only smoked half of her cigarette that morning, before she was pulled back into the apartment at the sight of Trixie scratching at her stomach, her shirt riding up to expose all of her panties and a bit of skin. 

_ “This one is for you!” Trixie said as she changed the song on her phone. “Since you have to work today. _

_ The opening chords began and Katya couldn’t miss the iconic typewriter. _

_ “Tumble outta bed and I stumble to the kitchen. Pour myself a cup of ambition and yawn and stretch and try to come to life,” Trixie sang, scooping scrambled eggs onto two plates. She danced back to the dining table with a bottle of Tapatio that Katya did not realize she had. “Jump in the shower and my blood starts pumping. Out on the street the traffic starts jumpin’ with folks like me on the job from 9 to 5!” _

_ The song continued and Trixie sat down across from Katya. Katya opened her mouth to thank her but then Trixie was talking again. _

_ “I was looking for drink options but all I saw was coffee and I don’t know how to make coffee,” Trixie said as she shrugged when Katya’s mouth fell open in disbelief. “I’m a tea drinker.” _

_ “That’s strike one, Mattel,” Katya had said with a confident wink, one she didn’t know she was capable of producing. Trixie was laughing and then they were eating as fast as they could.  _

“Huh,” Ginger nodded slowly and Katya wanted to shake her until she spit out her thought. She could see it swirling around her brain. 

“What?” Katya prodded but Ginger just shook her head and said  _ ‘nothing.’  _

“What.” Katya repeated. She was ready to roll her sleeves up and work to get whatever was stuck in Ginger’s throat out. 

“You didn’t try to kiss her?” Ginger asked. 

“No,” Katya answered.

“Why?” Ginger followed up and Katya couldn’t help sliding off the stool. She walked to the register, made a show of checking the cables.

“I don’t know,” Katya mumbled. “It just wasn’t the time.”

_ They stood in front of their cars. Katya needed to leave. She should’ve left ten minutes ago, but they had bantered back and forth while Katya had pulled out her clothes for the day and she couldn’t walk away to change. After she finally made it to the bathroom, she sat on the edge of her tub, willing her nerves to calm down. That had taken much longer than she appreciated.  _

_ “You know, last night. I pulled into the parking lot as someone was pulling out of this spot. I cheered a little. Talked outloud to myself about how I had great luck,” Trixie laughed, looking down at the guitar she had retrieved on their walk out. “Although, now I think it was fate.” _

_ Katya turned to look at her at that, Trixie’s lopsided smile was charming and she couldn’t help but grin.  _

_ “I think I’m too old for fate, but it did work out,” Katya countered and Trixie shook her head, her smile growing. Her toothy grin was pulled back almost immediately and Katya couldn’t help but smile for her.  _

_ Trixie turned so her body was facing Katya’s. Katya mirrored her image and she imagined herself closing the space, kissing her there in her apartment parking lot. But the setting didn’t match the sweet woman standing in front of her. In a heartbeat, her brain moved them to somewhere in the city. At night with the lights a blur behind Trixie. Outside with the late March evening breeze. The type of breeze that made you wish you weren’t wearing your light jacket, but wasn’t cold enough for a coat.  _

_ Not the place where she had tripped just last week and scraped up her knee. She could still see the light smear of blood on the pavement, if she really looked for it.  _

_ “I’m going to kiss you tomorrow,” Katya stated.  _

_ “Oh are you?” Trixie was smiling that smile again. Just a little bit of teeth showing. The one where she pressed her lips together to try to fight the grin, completely closed shifting to just a little bit open. Then back to closed when she could contain the smile.  _

_ “Yeah,” Katya said. She felt so far away from the shaking mess that had walked into the tattoo parlor by accident. Now she was standing in front of Trixie, so confidently making a move. “You don’t deserve to have our first kiss be rushed, in a parking lot. I’m gonna sweep you off your feet before I kiss you.” _

_ “You are setting a high standard for yourself,” Trixie said and then she was pulling Katya into a hug.  _

_ Katya dug her nose into Trixie’s neck, her heels making her taller than Katya. Trixie faintly smelled of equal parts honey and lavender and Katya tried to memorize it. Wanted to be able to bring it back to the forefront of her mind later. Then Trixie’s strong arms were pulling away from her and Katya watched the tattoos blur with the movement.  _

_ “Good-bye Katya,” Trixie blew her a kiss as she picked up her guitar case and began to walk to the back of her car. She swung open the back door and paused as she went to put her guitar in the back. She bent down.  _

_ Katya barely heard her say something about ‘a red scratch’ before she instantly remembered the Jeep and her sorry attempt at parallel parking and scurried into her car. She pulled out of her spot and watched Trixie waving her away through her rear view mirror.   _

“I’m seeing her again tomorrow,” Katya said before Ginger could pry further. 

“Oh?” Ginger was stunned, Katya could tell. 

Katya was stunned too. She had a good feeling in her gut. She liked Trixie. She was sweet and beautiful and had asked so many questions last night and cared about the answers. She held Katya while she stupidly cried about being an addict. 

Except Katya hadn’t felt stupid about it. Trixie was warm and reassuring. Her tears had seeped into Trixie’s skin and Trixie just made it seem like another part of life. Because, Katya thought, it was. 

“Yeah. She’s picking me up and we’re going on a date,” Katya stated. She did a sweep of the shop as Blair greeted a customer. Katya tried to listen in, but the man was talking too quietly and then Blair was leading them to one side of the shop.

“Where’s she taking you?” Ginger asked. 

“She told me it’s a surprise, but she said for me to bring lots of quarters,” Katya shrugged.

She moved out of the way as Blair came back to the counter. Katya watched her ring up the customer, how she tied up the bouquet, gave them a business card with both their addresses and wished them a good day as they walked out. 

“You didn’t ask questions?” Ginger deadpanned. “Girl, you are about to be murdered.”

“Probably,” Katya shrugged and then she was rifling through her bag, looking for her phone. She pulled the phone out, turning it face down onto the counter when she noticed a new text on the screen. “But that’s fine. I’m not afraid of death.”

*

Once Katya and Ginger had talked about Blair’s general performance, Katya sat and waited patiently for Ginger to pack up her things. She thanked her for opening and then watched her walk out of her office, heard her say something to Blair and then the front door open and close.

Katya finally swiped open her phone, going straight to her messages. 

_ Trixie: I had an amazing time last night. I’m really happy I didn’t listen to Pearl. What a dumb bitch.  _

Katya laughed.

_ Katya: I’m happy too. Also happy about the fact that you didn’t steal all the covers. I can’t date another woman who does. Haha _

The reply was immediate. 

_ Trixie: Forget about them. I’m pretty certain that I’ll be the only one sleeping in that bed with you. _

_ Katya: Someone’s sure of themself. ;) _

_ Trixie: I was there last night. I have a good feeling about everything. _

Katya felt herself blushing, the smile was back and every ounce of tired in her was gone. Instead it was replaced with a nervous energy that had her grabbing her wallet and walking out of the shop. She had told Blair that she’d be back and she ignored the  _ ‘i’ve never been left alone before’   _ that followed her out.  

Everything seemed too good to be true, Katya thought as she made her way down the street. She could feel her hair slipping from her hurried bun with each bouncy step and she pushed her bangs off of her forehead. She could feel the anxiety and despair spreading from her stomach, pushing out to lay flat on every inch of her skin. If she closed her eyes, she could feel it bloat her body and she couldn’t help but think of swollen corpses found in rivers. 

Instead of trying to damper the worry, Katya chose to reveal in it. It led her to the nearest coffee shop and she knew the caffeine was only going to make her heartbeat faster, her mind race faster.  _ But what if it doesn’t?  _

In line she couldn’t help but imagine her and Trixie on their date tomorrow, wherever Trixie was taking them. She could see herself getting caught up in the moment, not checking to see if Trixie was following, her mouth going a mile a minute. In her daydream, she sees the light in Trixie’s eyes dimming, sees their relationship dying before it can even start. All possibilities of a happy ending with Trixie, gone. 

She watched the line in front of her move, assigned each person in front of her an anxiety she felt in dating Trixie. 

_ She’s going to realize I’m crazy. _

The person at the counter finished paying and moved away and she watched her worry leave with them. 

_ We’re going to have nothing in common and it’s going to be awkward and quiet. _

The next person approached the counter, their greeting loud and high pitched and Katya could easily hear their order, a large hot coffee, black. Katya let herself grimace. She only drank black coffee when she was desperate for caffeine and needed the whole cup to be full.

_ I’m not going to be able to satisfy her in bed. _

The next person spoke much more quietly and Katya tried to guess what they were ordering. A vanilla latte? Maybe? She could picture it.

_ I won’t be good enough for her.  _

The next person took a long time to order, reading off their phone and then spending another 30 seconds reading the menu hanging on the wall and Katya rolled her eyes. Then tried to remind herself that some people didn’t need to obsess over pronunciation and repeat their order in their head to be able to order efficiently. Not everyone was ready when they reached the counter.

_ I’m going to fall completely in love with her and she’s going to leave me.  _

It was Katya’s turn. She reached the front, stumbled through her order and then waited off to the side.

She felt her phone vibrate in her hand, but ignored it until she picked up her drink and exited the shop. 

_ Trixie: Am I getting too ahead of myself? I’m just really excited. _

Katya smiled, the timing too perfect for her not to. She sent back a  _ ‘maybe. But under all the anxiety, i’m excited too. So it’s okay’ _

_ * _

Katya sat in her office, leaned as far back in her chair as she could, her feet propped on her desk with the door closed. Her computer was open and balancing precariously on her legs, Netflix open and completely abandoned as Katya scrolled through social media on her phone. Trixie had sent friend/follow requests to every account Katya owned and Katya had followed back eagerly. 

As the notifications of Trixie accepting them began to pop up on the screen, the phone turned black for a split-second before the screen changed to a picture Katya had taken of her sister Anya mid-sneeze and the phone was vibrating violently in her hands. 

She considered not answering, her mind still on Trixie’s facebook profile picture. But for once, she wanted to know what her sister had to say about it. 

“Hello?” Katya answered, putting her phone on speaker and letting it rest on her chest. 

“Hey! I have a quick question,” Anya started. Katya could hear shuffling in the background and a soft  _ meow.  _

“What’s up?” Katya closed her eyes as she focused on the conversation, trying to fight the urge to scroll through Trixie’s instagram at the same time. 

“What’re you doing for your birthday?” She asked.

“Haven’t thought about it. Figured I had a month to decide,” Katya yawned and two seconds later she could hear Anya yawning.

“Okay. I’m going to come visit. Flights are super cheap right now. I’ll fly down the 27th and then back up on the 1st,” She said, voice tapering off and Katya could hear her typing. She hummed in agreement, a  _ ‘sounds good’  _ while putting the visit into her calendar. 

“Before you hang up, I need your advice,” Katya said as she sat up, placing her feet flat on the ground and her laptop on the middle of the desk. 

“What’s up?” Anya’s voice was laced with worry. There was more shuffling on her end and Katya knew she had gotten up and was now pacing around her apartment. 

“Um, I met this girl,” Katya started, but she had to pause as Anya squealed. 

“KEEP GOING!” Anya yelled and Katya was instantly filled with regret. 

“So I’ve ran into her a couple of times, but last night she came over and we stayed up until 3 am talking. We talked about everything. I told her about my struggle with addiction and I even told her about my fears,” Katya trailed off. Anya breathed an ‘ _ oh wow’  _ and Katya kept going. 

“We’re going on a real date tomorrow, but I’m terrified and I just wanted to ask you. How soon is too soon for me to get excited about it?” Katya paused, not long enough for Anya to try to talk, but long enough that she could form her sentence around her actual thoughts. “I think I really like her, but we haven’t spent too much time together and I don’t want to get too invested too soon just to have her actually not be interested and then it ends before it even begins and then I’m left all heartbroken.”

“Okay. You need to breathe and let me talk,” Anya interjected, her voice strong and ready and Katya felt like the little sister. 

“It’s less about how long you’ve spent getting to know each other, it’s all about that quality time,” Anya cut herself off and Katya kept silent. Could picture her sister in thought, drumming the air with her fingertips as she caught the words she needed. “Who cares how long you’ve known each other when you actually, truly got to know them? I was with Greg for like, 4 months and barely knew anything about him. So, time doesn’t really mean anything. You have a great judge in character and if you think she’s worth getting excited about, let yourself. She said yes to the date with you after you guys hung out all night, so from my point of view, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“She actually asked me on the date,” Katya added, already feeling better. 

“Oh! See! That’s even better. She spent the entire night getting to know you and still wanted to see you. Like, two days later. Which says a lot!” Anya stopped, took a deep breath in. “You’re not allowed to worry until after your date tomorrow, so stop being a stupid little bitch about it and just let yourself have fun. This is the best part of a relationship. Let yourself be a teenager again and TELL ME ALL ABOUT HER!” 

Katya laughed, then started with the most important part.

“Well, she LOVES Dolly Parton.”

*

“She sounds great and honestly, I would probably fall in love with her if I met her,” Anya said an hour later. “She’s given you reasons to like her. She seems to like you too. You’re going to have a great time tomorrow and you can say that you really like her. Even if it is too soon, who cares? It’s your relationship. Not anyone else’s. So fuck ‘em.”

“How’d you get so wise? You make me look so stupid,” Katya said, laughing. 

“Smarts skips around in a family. Alex got the asshole gene. You got the dumb-ass bitch gene and I’m the smart one,” Anya stated, so sure of herself and Katya scoffed.

“Okay, bye bitch!” She brought her phone down, and before she could hang up she heard a  _ ‘bye fester!’  _

Katya shook her head, smiling at the text that came through immediately from her sister, a long line of black hearts. She got up, walked into the main area of the shop as someone walked out, their arms full of flowers. 

“Everything good?” Katya asked Blair, who was standing tall with a wide smile behind the counter.

“Actually yeah,” Blair turned towards Katya, resting her hands gently on the countertop. “That guy was a jerk and he made me want to cry, but I convinced him to buy a bunch of bouquets. So I’m feeling really good.”

“That’s great!” Katya reassured. 

After getting a lunch order from Blair, Katya was halfway to the door when she stopped, turned around and walked back to the counter. 

“One thing I want you to do while I’m gone,” Katya started. Blair nodded eagerly, so she continued. “I’m going on a date tomorrow. It’s a first date. She likes pink and other pastel colors, except for green. She’s really sweet, but she’s super sassy and kind of bratty. But really independent. I want you to put together a potential bouquet for me to give her tomorrow. This is your only test really. Once you do it, we’re just waiting out the clock and making sure you can close on your own.”

Blair nodded along, her eyes scanning the shop, skipping over the pre-made bouquets. 

“I’ll be back,” Then Katya was leaving again and as she walked past the large windows of the shop, she could see Blair rifling through the flowers. 

*

When Katya walked in, she saw the bunch of flowers on the countertop, laying down and fanned out, with Blair at the register, ringing up an order for a woman. They were laughing, only stopping when Katya placed the bag of takeout on the counter. 

“Isn’t this bouquet beautiful!” The woman turned to Katya, holding up the bouquet. The card machine started to beep and Blair pulled out the card, her eyes stuck on Katya. 

“It is!” Katya smiled at the bunch of daisies, the red, orange, and yellow coming together to create a sunset. 

“My daughter is sick with a stomach bug. Poor girl has been up all night. Thought something beautiful will cheer her up!” The woman looked so proud of herself and when she signed her receipt, she picked up the bouquet, held it up to her nose and sighed as she walked out of the shop. 

“I didn’t get a chance to put it together, but here are the flowers I picked out!” Blair said as she picked up the stems, moving them around to create a crude rendition of a bouquet. 

Katya smiled at the bouquet, her fingers tracing the flowers lightly. The bellflowers, the white carnations, the lilac syringa flowers and the peonies. 

“They’re great. I just want to make one little adjustment, but you did great,” Katya took the flowers from Blair. She picked the peonies out, placing them back into their proper single stem buckets. She replaced them with pink roses and made her bouquet, tied with her signature red ribbon. 

Later that night, in the middle of composing a text to Ginger, Katya’s phone began to ring in her hand. 

_ Trixie. _

“Hello?” Katya answered, her heart beating in her throat. 

“You haven’t backed out on me for tomorrow, right?” Trixie asked in lieu of a ‘hello’.

“Of course not,” Katya responded. She snuggled further into her bed as she talked, pulling her covers up to her chin. 

“I’ll be at your place at noon?” Trixie’s voice was small, almost as if she was nervous and Katya felt enamoured. Katya had seen Trixie on both ends of the spectrum, so confident in herself that it was a turn on and so unsure that Katya didn’t want to do anything besides hug her and shower her in reassurance. 

“Sounds good. Bring quarters, right?” Katya followed up.

“Yes! We need quarters. Lots of them!” Trixie was giggling on her end. “I’m very excited to take you to this place. I want it to be a surprise! So, don’t try to google it.”

“Okay,” Katya was laughing along with her. 

“How was work?” Trixie asked and then Katya was off, telling her everything about her day. From Ginger harassing her when she got to work, which Trixie laughed hysterically at, to Anya calling. 

“You and your sister seem close,” Trixie commented.

“We are. I was young enough when she was born that I was really excited for another sibling. My older brother’s kind of a jerk. So, I was very excited for a sister,” Katya mused. “Plus, she was the only member of my family that didn’t freak out when they found out I was an addict. She took it in stride and moved out to live with me for a bit after I did a very short rehab stint. Helped me figure out how to live again and focus on work.”

“She sounds amazing,” Trixie said and Katya was humming along.

Then Katya was asking her how her day was. She sighed with jealousy as Trixie went into depth about her relaxful day at home. She told her about the movies she watched all day. How she started with Steel Magnolias and bawled her eyes out on her couch. Then she moved onto Clueless, then Legally Blonde.

Trixie told Katya about how she had raked through all of Katya’s social media accounts, unashamed in the fact. Then she circled back to how she enjoyed the night before. 

“Am I talking about it too much?” Trixie asked. Katya yawned, stretching her arms above her head. Her phone began to slide off her pillow, but she caught it before it could slide under her covers.

“No,” Katya said, her voice low and deep. “You can talk about how much you like spending time with me all you want.”

Trixie chuckled, her breathing deep. Katya had gotten up at some point to turn off her lights and now she was battling sleep. Katya wasn’t sure how long they had been on the phone, but it was still early in the night. Her body hadn’t recovered yet from the night before. 

“I should let you go to sleep,” Trixie said, her voice gentle and soft. 

“Just two more minutes,” Katya responded, but her eyes were already closed and her muscles were relaxing, each limb feeling light and disconnected from her body.

“Okay,” Trixie hummed into the phone. “Tomorrow, I think I’m going to wear something more comfortable. I haven’t decided what. But I washed my hair today, so I have more time to sleep in tomorrow morning.”

Katya made a noise in encouragement. It come out high and harsh, she was unwilling to open her mouth, everything a second away from sleep.

“I know you’re falling asleep, so I’m just going to keep rambling until you do,” Trixie continued. “There’s this cute little restaurant right around the corner that I’m thinking about taking you to. It’s right next to this bookstore that I really like. The owner has multiple cats and they sometimes take them to the store. They’re really nice and let you pet them and they purr so loudly. Anyways, the restaurant has a really nice outside dining option and they have a bunch of string lights everywhere. It’s romantic without being too much.”

Katya didn’t respond, she was fast asleep. She shifted slightly, settling into her sleep position and the phone began to slide off the pillow again. The room was quiet as Trixie trailed off. All that could be heard was Trixie on the phone, breathing in time with Katya. Slow and languid. Then Trixie was whispering into the night: 

_ “Goodnight, Katya.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you made it all the way to the end and you think you wanna listen to the spotify playlist and don't wanna scroll up, [here it is again](https://open.spotify.com/user/94samantha.b/playlist/6lpQSzOlUHl588dWDLdUM4?si=E1gim4gkTkCsA5nMa3wuTg/)!
> 
> You can find me on tumblr [here](https://samwhambam.tumblr.com/)! I'm a nice girl with a lot to offer. (Also I reblog a lot of random stuff, that's not just trixya and dolly parton)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katya just laughed then leaned up, pressing a soft kiss to Trixie’s cheek which scrunched on contact. Katya pulled away, Trixie turning her head to place a soft one on Katya’s own cheek before she could get too far. Katya smiled at her, noting the way Trixie was biting at her lip, everything about Trixie glowing, but just a little bit shy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (The arcade in this chapter is modeled after the Musee Mecanique in San Francisco! It is my favorite place in the whole world. It's on the Fisherman's Warf! I highly recommend the spot to anyone visiting the city!)
> 
> Oh how the turntables...
> 
> Wow! Long time no see! I'm so sorry this update took so long. There was so so so much writing I wanted and had planned to do in January, but life stuff happened. If you follow me on tumblr, then you know that I got a new job! And moved! Which are two very stressful things on their own and then you put them together???? Oh wow. Not a fun time. 
> 
> But I am back! And updating on my very own, big girl internet. Wrote the last bit of this chapter on my own couch. 
> 
> I am very proud of myself for where I am right now. I graduated college and worked a job that had nothing to do with my degree. Then over a year later got a job that I HATED but it was closer to my degree. Quit because it was that bad and then moved back home to live with my parents while I job hunted and figured out what I wanted to do with my life. I'm saying all of this to let all of my readers (who might be in that post-grad spot where life is fucking you over more than it's making you happy) know that it'll happen in time. My aunt told me "things are going to happen for you. It may not be when you want it too, because you want it right now, but it'll happen." and listen she was right. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter! The next one should be coming way faster than this one did lmao

Trixie was supposed to arrive in 8 minutes and Katya was standing by her front door, digging her bare toes into the plush carpet, a pinky toe scratching against the base of the carpet where the fibers were running thinner than the rest. She checked her phone again, 7 minutes. She sighed, allowing herself to start putting her shoes on. Her bare feet stuck to the jelly material, causing her to huff before pulling on each side and jamming her foot in. 

She was halfway done with the second shoe when there was a tentative knock on the door. It was soft and Katya almost thought she had imagined it, but she still straightened herself. Through the peephole she saw Trixie standing on her doorstep, something in her hands, looking down the hall. Her body swayed as she waited, then she was looking at the door and Katya felt her breath hitch at the eye contact. A wave of embarrassment washed over her as she reached for the doorknob.

_ That’s not how the peephole works, dumbass. _

She opened the door and Trixie was standing in front of her, actually making eye contact. She stood there in all of her pink glory. Blonde hair up, with bangs curled perfectly around her face. Some wispy hairs were stuck in her lashes, moving each time she blinked. Lips the same sparkly pink. She was wearing a light pink sweater, a fuzzy one that Katya recognized from Instagram. It was cut short and Katya knew that if Trixie lifted her arms, skin would be exposed above the waistband of her skater skirt, a sliver of skin between two equally as pink garments. She shifted and dug the toe of her right foot--crisp, clean, white keds, into the carpet.

Katya realized she hadn’t said anything, just stared and gawked at the woman before her. She wanted to say something but could only think about running her fingertips over the dainty gold jewelry Trixie was wearing. The necklace, the earrings, the rings adorning her fingers. Everything was there, pretty, fragile and Katya couldn’t fight off the thoughts that she was going to ruin her. Something was going to happen and Katya would hurt her. 

“Is that a ‘wow you look amazing stare’ or a ‘i’m so excited to wear you as a skin-suit’ kind of stare?” Trixie asked before she laughed. Katya was flooded with warmth and smiling in an instant.

“The first one,” Katya stepped to the side, motioning for Trixie to enter. After she closed the door, she bent down to fasten the buckle on the side of her shoe. 

When she was vertical again, she noticed the small smile on Trixie’s face. Such a small smile full of amusement. Katya could tell by the way her lips puffed out that Trixie was biting her cheeks, her eyes bright. 

“What?” Katya asked, ready for the ‘ _ they’re so ugly’  _ comment that she usually got about her platform, black jellies. 

“I love your shoes!” Trixie was laughing again and Katya knew that if Trixie found them ugly and truly hilarious, she would wear them every day just so Trixie could laugh at them. 

“Oh my god, don’t be rude!” Katya exclaimed. But she was laughing too. 

“I’m not! I actually like them!” Trixie’s mouth was a big ‘O’. “You think I’m being sarcastic but I’m not!”

“Wait, you like them?” Katya was surprised, her hand on Trixie’s arm to keep her balance as she was hunched in shock. 

“Yes!” Trixie laughed again, before backing up and walking towards Katya’s kitchen. Katya kept her hand on her arm, following her. 

“Everyone always tells me they hate them and that they’re ugly and uncomfortable,” Katya said as Trixie placed a container on the countertop.

“Okay, so when I was a little girl, I saw a girl wearing them at school. She had the pink ones with glitter in them. And I loved them. So when my mom and I went on our monthly shopping trip into the city, we were at Walmart and I saw them and we couldn’t afford them. I was so sad about it,” Trixie explained. “I never had the chance to grow to hate them, so I’m a fan.”

Katya smiled, taking that bit and putting it in the pink box in her mind. Before she could comment, Trixie was opening the box she had brought. The smell of chocolate chip cookies hit her and her mouth began to water. 

“I was going to bring you flowers, because y’know. That’s very much a date thing, but when I went to the store on my way home yesterday, none of them seemed good enough and you’re a fucking florist and I didn’t want you to judge my grocery store flowers,” Trixie trailed off, shaking her head at herself. 

“You bought those for me?” Katya smiled at the thought. She wanted to tell Trixie that she would never judge anything that she brought her, that she could turn up at her front door with a popped balloon, a basket of rotten apples and a barbie doll head and she would still take everything, smile and place it loud and proud on her coffee table and tell everyone that  _ Trixie  _ had brought it for her. 

“No! I baked those for you,” Trixie said, complete and utter horror dripping off her words. “I’m not going to bring you hard, store bought cookies. I made those from scratch!”

Katya just stared at the cookies, her fingertips slowly reaching for the tin. She picked one up, perfectly round with golden brown edges and a soft inside. She didn’t even have to bite it to know it tasted perfect.

“You made them? For me?” Katya said as she peered into the tin. Each one perfect and the same. 

“Yeah. Now, please eat one?” Trixie’s eyes were bright and hopeful. She watched intently as Katya took a bite. 

“Oh my god,” Katya said around a mouthful of cookie. She felt her eyes close involuntarily as the chocolate chips melted on her tongue, morphing around her taste buds. “They’re so good.”

Katya swallowed, staring at the tin longingly as she took another bite. 

“You like them?” Trixie asked. The look of pride on Trixie’s face made Katya swoon.

The smile on her face was incomparable to anything else, Katya thought. The pink lips stretched over the crooked teeth, the tiny dimple near her chin, the roundness of the apples of her cheeks. It was all perfect. Katya was  _ fucked  _ and she knew it. She was ready to get heartbroken. Katya was going to be either too boring, too weird or too crazy and Trixie was going to leave running. She just wanted a couple more moments like this before it happened, just so she could have more to look back on and torture herself over. 

“They’re so good,” Katya grabbed another one, closing the tin before she grabbed a third. “I’d ask for the recipe, but I’ve never baked anything I didn’t burn.”

Trixie giggled, pushing a piece of bang behind her ear. The shorter hairs stayed for a second before falling back onto her face. “Guess I’ll just have to make more.”

More. A next time. Katya let herself fill up with hope and she was already tired of herself, of being on the  _ it’s not going to work out/it’s going to work out  _ rollercoaster.  _ ‘Have fun!’  _ the little Anya inside her mind told her. Then she remembered the bouquet in the fridge.

She walked over, stepping around Trixie, one hand on her lower back to move her just slightly over. Trixie turned her head to follow Katya, her ponytail swinging behind her and Katya put her hair on her list of  _ ‘Top 5 Favorite Trixie Things’.  _

“You bring the baked goods and I’ll bring the flowers,” Katya said as she pulled the bouquet out of the fridge and offered it to Trixie. Trixie blushed as she accepted it, instantly bringing it up to her face.

“Katya, they’re beautiful!” Trixie hugged them close to herself. She fingered the flowers softly, biting her bottom lip. Her eyebrows twitched and then she was looking up again. “No one else has ever given me flowers before.”

“Really?” Katya asked. She was stunned.

Trixie just shook her head, she was laughing softly again and Katya felt the itch underneath her skin to say something funny, just to hear Trixie’s real laugh instead. The big, loud, scary one. She wanted her neighbors to hear it. She wanted Trixie’s friend two doors down to hear it and ask her about it later. And how the fuck had no one ever bought her flowers?

“Then you waltz your way into my life and it’s our first date, yet the second set of flowers you’ve given me,” Trixie turned away from Katya, peeking back over her shoulder at her. “You’re spoiling me, Ms. Zamolodchikova.”

Katya grinned at her. They had spent 10 minutes the other night going over how to pronounce Katya’s last name. It was when Trixie was still tipsy, well that was Trixie’s excuse. 

_ “Mine’s Mattel. Like the Barbie company,” Trixie had said with a wink. “It’s super hard to pronounce, so don’t feel bad if it takes you 10 minutes as well.” _

Katya had just smiled at her before locking one hand around the ankle draped over lap and tickling the sole of her foot with her other hand. 

“Oh, just wait until I get you in bed. That’s when the real spoiling begins,” Katya teased, nudging Trixie as she passed her, walking back into the living room. A quick glance back told her Trixie was beet red and licking at her lips. Katya hid her laugh as she picked up the leather jacket and purse that was abandoned on the couch. 

“Shall we get going?” Katya called back as she reached the door. She heard Trixie shuffling behind her and then Katya was following her out and down the stairs and out the front door of the complex.

*

The first thing Katya noticed about Trixie’s car was that it was spotless. The interior was a light grey, a few shades lighter than the exterior with pink accents that Katya was completely enamoured by. After she sat down and Trixie closed the door behind her, Katya sneaked a glance to the backseat, hoping to find something,  _ anything,  _ to make her feel better about her own car. A wrapper? An abandoned coffee cup? A sweater thrown on the floor. But there was  _ nothing  _ and Trixie was finally opening her driver’s door and sitting down.

“You have quarters, right?” Trixie asked, her hand halfway to the ignition. 

“Yes,” Katya confirmed after checking her purse for the ziplock bag she had thrown in the night before.

“Okay, perfect,” Trixie said. The engine roared to life and they were off.

Trixie drove with one hand resting near the bottom of steering wheel, sliding it up to weave her way in and out of traffic before coming back to its resting place. The other hand drummed lightly on the parking brake to the beat of the song playing. She had put on the playlist from two nights prior and Katya found herself humming along to the songs she remembered. 

“When do I get to know where we’re going?” Katya asked, watching in awe as Trixie took the smoothest left turn. Katya couldn’t remember the last time someone took a left turn that smoothly in L.A with oncoming traffic quickly approaching. 

“Oh! I guess I can tell you now,” Trixie checked her mirrors, before moving onto an on-ramp. She squinted against the sun, flipping down her visor and then merged onto the highway. Katya noticed the pair of false lashes attached to the visor and smiled smugly. There it was. “Have you heard of Musee Mecanique?”

“No,” Katya responded, pulling her sunglasses from her purse. She slipped the black frames on, fluffing her curls around the frames, trying to avoid touching her bangs. They had been fussy all morning and Katya finally got them in the right shape minutes before Trixie arrived. 

“Oh! It’s so great!” Trixie’s enthusiasm quickly dissipated as a car cut her off. She cursed under her breath before crawling back up to speed. “It’s this museum that has antique arcade games and coin operated automaton. It’s so cool. Everything works. Well, mostly. Last time I went, there was 2 or 3 that needed maintenance. But it’s so cool!”

“That sounds really cool,” Katya agreed. It hadn’t seemed possible, but her excitement grew even more at the thought of running around an arcade with Trixie. 

“And there’s this nice place a couple doors down where we can get dinner. It has a really nice dining patio,” Trixie continued, glancing at Katya. Katya caught her eye, smiling brightly at her. 

Trixie glanced back to the road, then to Katya again. Katya faced forward, smiling ahead. 

“What?!” Trixie laughed, reaching over to gently slap at Katya’s leg. 

“Nothing!” Katya laughed along with Trixie, watching her brake smoothly. In front of them was a line of brakelights and Trixie leaned back in her seat, her ponytail forming a halo of curls on the headrest, skewed to one side as she turned her head to face Katya. Her smile matched Katya’s.

“Tell me!” Trixie took her hand off Katya’s leg, drawing it back to her own body. Katya caught it in midair. She played with Trixie’s fingers, stroking them before tapping at the edge of her acrylics. 

Katya let her own hand fall onto the center console as Trixie began inching the car forward, picking up speed as the cars moved. 

“I’m just really excited,” Katya said. Another glance was shared between them and Trixie was blushing the prettiest shade of pink Katya had ever seen. “Really excited to be here, with you.”

“Such a sap,” Trixie muttered and Katya reached for the volume, turning it up as Jolene started playing. 

Trixie sang along, her voice soft and pretty and Katya was in awe, joining only when she knew the lyrics, off-key shrieks of ‘ _ Jolene!’  _

*

“This is it!” Trixie said as they stood in front of the building. It was small. Smaller than Katya had imagined. She straightened the purse strap across her body, pulling the bag so it was in front of her. Trixie pulled a bag of quarters from her backpack before swinging the backpack on. 

“It’s smaller than I anticipated,” Katya said as she pulled open the door, holding it for Trixie who blushed and smiled as she passed her. Katya felt herself cringe after she processed what she said. The date had just started, was she really making a complaint already?

“It is! I thought the same thing, but everything’s tightly packed in,” Trixie explained. Katya walked in and stopped immediately. 

“ _ Oh my god,”  _ Katya whispered as she looked around. 

“I know!” Trixie squealed, bouncing in place.

There were different antiques, wood and glass boxes containing figures and neon lights lining the big space, with  _ more  _ creating a maze in the middle of the floor. The space was cramped, but Katya could see some pinball machines in the back, there was a large “love test” machine in the middle of the floor with a large heart looming over the other machines. There were boxes that said ‘fortune teller’ on the top in gilded gold letters. Some boxes were tall and skinny with brass plaques on the front. 

Katya walked to the nearest little exhibit. It was one of the solid boxes, but when she approached, she could a cutout on top and when she peered in there was a rolodex open to the picture of a landscape. 

“Watch it,” Trixie said, suddenly closer than Katya was expecting. 

Katya heard the sound of a quarter entering a slot, rolling down and then the rolodex began to flip. Through the pictures, Katya saw the landscape begin to shift, the images moving from left to right and then buildings began to collapse, more and more debris collecting in the streets. Fires began to pop up, each flip of the pages showing larger and larger fires and Katya felt worry bubbling up in her. Each click brought more and more disaster and then the last one was a relatively modern picture of the same landscape and Katya noticed two bridges looming tall and proud in the background. 

“Wait,” Katya trailed off as she stepped back and actually read what the bronze plaque said. 

_ San Francisco Earthquake, 1906. _

“It’s a little movie!” Trixie provided.

“That was really cool,” Katya said, her voice full of wonder. She turned to face Trixie but got distracted by the machines behind her. 

“There’s dirty ones in the back,” Trixie winked at Katya, shaking her shoulders at her once Katya finally looked at her. 

“Lead the way!” Katya exclaimed as she poked at Trixie, pushing her slightly towards the back.

*

“We gotta get fortunes from all the different machines!” Trixie said as she pulled Katya towards the nearest one.

Trixie stopped in front of it, unzipping her little baggie. Katya stared through the glass, trying to recognize the object inside. It was brown and tall, yet scrunched and dirty with strips of fabric hanging off of it. She could recognize a face within the folds, then finally looked down. Under the glass casing was four buttons, each one with a crest and it finally clicked in time with Trixie’s quarter dropping.

_ “Let the sorting hat tell you your future. Now press the button coordinating with your house.” _

Katya didn’t pay attention to Trixie as she pressed a button, just watched the hat wiggle and swish around the box, making groaning noises as gears shifted.

_ “Hmmm. Slytherin! The house of the cunning. An ambitious one you are!”  _

And then a small business card sized piece of paper slid smoothly out of a slot underneath the buttons. Trixie leaned down, pulling out the card. 

“Let’s read them all at the end,” She said and she stowed her card in her bag of quarters. 

“I don’t know what house I am,” Katya said as she fished out a quarter of her own. 

“You don’t?” Trixie raised an eyebrow at her, cocking her head to the side. 

“Nope. Never took any of the tests,” Katya shrugged as she placed her quarter in the machine. 

“Oh,” Trixie furrowed her brow as the sorting hat started talking. She quickly handed Katya three quarters. “Get one of each and then we’ll decide which one you are based on the fortune you like the best.”

Katya laughed as she pressed the button all the way to the left.  _ Hufflepuff.  _

“I want to read what it says, but you can’t be Hufflepuff,” Trixie said as Katya pulled on the card. Katya laughed, shaking her head.

“Watch, I’m going to get home tonight, take the official test and be a Hufflepuff,” Katya sniggered as Trixie took a step back, her mouth dropping and eyes wide. 

“Don’t you say that!” Trixie looked absolutely appalled.

Katya just laughed then leaned up, pressing a soft kiss to Trixie’s cheek which scrunched on contact. Katya pulled away, Trixie turning her head to place a soft one on Katya’s own cheek before she could get too far. Katya smiled at her, noting the way Trixie was biting at her lip, everything about Trixie glowing, but just a little bit shy. 

Then Katya turned back to the machine, putting in one of Trixie’s quarters. 

“You have a little bit of red lipstick on your cheek,” Katya stated, looking oh so briefly at Trixie with indifference before pressing the next button.  _ Ravenclaw.  _

She heard Trixie curse before rubbing at her cheek, blending the lipstick into her blush. 

“Can you give me a smooch on the other one so they can match?” Trixie asked, turning her face but bringing it close to Katya. 

Katya laughed and obliged. 

*

“I know what I want to do for my last quarter,” Katya said, taking the lead and Trixie’s hand. She walked until they were in front of a large, pink and red monstrosity with hearts.

“Oh my god, the love meter?” Trixie said, laughing as they stepped closer to it. 

“Yes! I need to know how our relationship is gonna go!” Katya took mental note of the way Trixie’s eyes lit up even brighter at ‘relationship’. 

Trixie watched her as Katya read the instructions. 

“Do you think if I don’t put my hand on the designated area, it’ll still give me a reading?” Katya teased.

“Just do it!” Trixie laughed as she leaned against the machine, watching the way the flashing lights reflected in Katya’s eyes. 

Katya placed her hand on the large handprint, felt the little bumps vibrate against her palm. Then the machine whistled at her and Trixie lost it, shaking with laughter and causing the people around them to stop, turn and stare. The machine let out a low  _ “flamin’ hot!”  _ Trixie stilled, eyes wide and mouth open. And then she was screaming, slapping at the air and Katya was doubled over in laughter. 

“That’s so good!” Trixie shrieked between laughs, skirt swishing around her legs as she bounced in place. 

“Okay, okay,” Katya said as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Stand next to it and pose! I need a photo to commemorate this.”

Trixie laughed, twisting the curls of her ponytail together, trying to reshape them quickly. She smoothed her skirt before hugging the machine, kicking a leg back, smiling large and cheesy. Katya snapped the picture, taking in the Trixie on the screen. The smile was infectious and she sent the picture, without a caption, to Anya as she followed Trixie out.

*

“It’s this one,” Trixie said as she pulled harder on Katya’s hand, trying to pull her away from the storefront she was staring into. 

“How much do you think their electricity bill is?” Katya tugged back on Trixie. Trixie came back to her side with a huff. 

“I don’t know, but I’m going to go put our name down,” Trixie let go of Katya’s hand. 

“My eyes hurt,” Katya said when Trixie returned to her side. 

“Maybe staring into a lighting shop isn’t the best idea,” Trixie countered, this time successfully pulling Katya away.

Katya tried to blink the dark spots from her eyes as she blindly followed Trixie.

“Do you think they write off part of their electricity bill on their taxes? Would that count as a business expense?” Katya asked once they stopped, just inside the front doors of the restaurant. Her vision was slowly coming back and she couldn’t help but laugh at Trixie’s expression. 

“Actually, maybe?” Trixie’s voice trailed off as her eyebrows furrowed. 

They were tucked into a corner, trying to keep out of the way in the busy waiting area. As they waited, people flurried past them. Katya was enthralled with each group around them, trying to listen in when Trixie wasn’t talking. Next to them was a group of two couples, parents who were meeting their son’s boyfriend for the first time. Katya could feel the nerves radiating off of the young men.

“Do you remember the first time your parents met your significant other?” Katya asked as she leaned towards Trixie, her voice low. “I was a mess.”

At the silent pause that was held for just a beat too long, Katya turned to fully face Trixie, observing the look of doubt on Trixie’s face. Katya felt her mouth dry with worry. Had she said something wrong? Had she offended her?

“I’ve never actually had any of my partners meet my parents,” Trixie responded. Katya watched her sink into herself and had the sudden urge to reach into Trixie’s chest, blow air into the wounds to pump herself back up into the raging Virgo/Leo cusp Trixie had proven herself to be throughout the day.

“Oh,” Katya said as she began to backpedal. “Well, I’ve only had a couple meet my parents. And it’s not a big deal. Not even worth it.”

Trixie just nodded, her eyes vacant and trained on the stroller behind Katya. Katya felt the tips of her fingers begin to tingle, the pins sticking her over and over again. She wracked her mind for something to say, anything that could shift the ambience back to darling and sweet. She opened her mouth, willing something to come out. All day she had been saying stupid shit, making Trixie laugh louder and louder. And now, when it mattered, she couldn’t think of a simple thing. 

“I had a lot of internalized homophobia, up until fairly recently. Didn’t really date until my mid-20’s,” Trixie said, kicking Katya’s foot lightly. Their eyes met and there was a softness in Trixie’s eyes that melted Katya’s insides. “I don’t know, seems like the tide is changing a bit.”

Katya reached out for Trixie’s hands, pulling her even closer. They were breathing the same air and Katya felt her spirit reach into Trixie, pull her close by her core and into her own body. 

_ Do it now!  _

And Katya went to kiss her. 

_ Yes you fucking bitch!  _ She could hear Anya cheering for her in the back of her mind. 

“Trixie! Party of two!” A deep voice called out, striking Katya’s spine and making her jump back in surprise. 

Trixie huffed, her soft pillowy lips turned into a pout and Katya broke her shock to laugh at Trixie. 

“Ugh, let’s go,” Trixie said, pulling Katya behind her. 

*

They had been led to the side patio, to a table along the perimeter. The night sky hung heavy above them and the candles on the table lit up the space between them. They ate dinner, laughing at the things the other was saying. Katya felt focused, heady with the task of memorizing everything about Trixie.

Each time Trixie had prompted a story out of Katya, Katya would always fumble over the beginning, losing her words at the stammering thought  _ she wants to get to know me.  _

After dinner, Trixie had pulled Katya to her side of the table, down onto the bench next to her. Trixie ordered a drink, sipping it casually.

Trixie was now telling a story, one from her early days of living in Los Angeles, but Katya wasn’t listening, couldn’t manage to even if she tried. Each time Trixie took a break, trailing off before continuing on, Katya hummed in encouragement. Not listening to the words, but the sound of her voice. Katya traced the line of Trixie’s lips with her eyes, watching the slightly faded pink move as narrated. Her gaze drops and she decides that the light wash of Trixie’s denim jacket is the perfect shade. Light enough that it enhances the pastel of Trixie’s outfit without stealing the limelight, but dark enough that it holds its own against the pink.

Katya doesn’t stop herself from reaching out and fingering the pink high heel enamel pin placed above one of the chest pockets. There was a prickle of discomfort on the tip of her finger where she pushed hard against the point of the heel. So similar to the ones she had noticed on Trixie’s instagram. Katya noticed the silence, not sure when Trixie had faltered in her storytelling. 

When Katya looked up, their eyes met and all Katya could think was  _ Trixie.  _ Her skin was tingling where it was still touching Trixie and Katya lost herself in the brown of Trixie’s eyes. She was drowning in the clear brown, the single shade from pupil to sclera. Katya couldn’t decipher the look in them. There was a  _ want  _ in them, bordered by a harder edge. A yearning that was directed at Katya. 

Katya didn’t realize that her fingers were moving until they tugged at Trixie’s earlobe. The back of her fingertips trailed along Trixie’s jaw and it shifted underneath her touch. Trixie’s eyes were wide, watching Katya, with her bottom lip under her sharp teeth. The string lights behind Trixie framed her face, haloing her blonde hair, and Katya could see the lights behind herself being reflected in the shine of Trixie’s eyes. The early evening chill had already come in and Katya could see the goosebumps on Trixie’s skin. Katya brought up her other hand, tugging gently at the lapel of her jacket. The material was thick and rough. 

_ She wants you.  _

_ Be brave. Just fucking do it.  _

The doubt that had clouded Katya’s head was slowly dissipating. She was finally at the edge of the fog and she could see herself for who she was in the moment. She was a woman on a date with someone who helped her feel alive. Someone she felt like she had a real chance with. Someone who didn’t run at the sight of the severity of Katya’s baggage. Trixie had instead sang Dolly Parton songs throughout the night, making herself more and more comfortable in Katya’s home. In one bought of restless energy that night, Trixie had gotten up and rearranged all the pillows on Katya’s couch, laying over them. Her own special throne.

Her thumb shifted, resting on Trixie’s chin. She pulled down lightly, watching Trixie’s plump bottom lip move, being dragged past Trixie’s teeth, bouncing back once Katya let go. The world around them began to disappear. All the voices that had been grating on Katya’s nerves all night began to quiet and all the tables began to slide farther and farther away from them. Katya didn’t register her hand moving to cup Trixie’s jaw until her fingertips were brushing against Trixie’s hairline. The only thing that cut through to Katya was the gasp that left Trixie’s mouth as Katya pulled her forwards, into a kiss. 

Katya kissed her gently, sweetly, with no purpose but to kiss her. She pulled away at the sound of a waiter walking by, a little too close to their table. Their lips separated for a second before Trixie kissed her, chasing her as she moved to connect their lips again before Katya could put distance between them. 

All her worries about the day, thoughts of her scaring away Trixie, had wasted away, each one dropping from her shoulders as the date went on, disappearing along with Trixie’s lipstick. Trixie was interested and when she had mentioned a second date, Katya had been ecstatic. And now with Trixie kissing her, moving closer to her, her chest felt lighter and her mind was swirling with hope and possibility of the future. 

When Trixie pulled away, Katya let her. She would’ve given anything to keep kissing her, to extend the moment as if they were alone, but she wanted to see her face. Trixie looked relaxed, her lips in a soft smile, eyes flickering over Katya’s face. And then she was giggling and Katya felt a finger running along her lips. 

“Okay, I kind of like the sparkly pink lipstick on top of the red,” Trixie laughed as she blended the lipsticks together. Katya hadn’t noticed the botchy red and pink on Trixie until Trixie mentioned it. She had only registered the feeling of her lips when she looked at them. 

Trixie was rubbing her own lips together as she shifted, draping her legs over Katya’s, her feet flat on the bench. Katya noticed a shuffling and looked up, their waiter standing nervously near their table. 

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said, his eyes flickered between the two of them and he fiddled with a set of smaller menus in his hands. “Would you two be interested in dessert menus?”

“Yes,” Trixie replied, holding out her hand for the menus. 

When the waiter walked away, Trixie handed a menu to Katya who placed it on the table, ignoring it. She shifted, careful to not move Trixie’s legs. She wanted to face Trixie again, see her without having to hide her staring. Katya was proud of herself and was going to bask in the feeling of bravery that she had drummed up to kiss Trixie. 

“Okay,” Trixie hummed as she flicked the menu closed, leaving it on the table to grab Katya’s hands instead. Trixie shifted again and they were closer than they had been all night. 

“Okay,” Trixie repeated as she settled into Katya’s side. The waiter was back, collecting the menus. 

“Okay,” Katya replied, smiling at her as she watched Trixie order dessert. 

*

“Wait! Don’t get out of the car yet!” Trixie screeched as she turned off her car and yanked the keys out of the ignition. 

The sky was dark and Katya watched the blur of pink as it rounded the front of the car, stopping by her door. Trixie opened the door, moving with bravado, one arm out and her body in a curtsy. 

“M’lady,” Trixie bowed her head and Katya slid out of the car, doubling over in laughter as Trixie maintained her perfect posture.

“Oh my god,” Katya stepped out of the way, letting Trixie close the door. She stumbled past Trixie, her foot getting caught in a pothole. 

Katya caught Trixie’s hand, pulling herself completely upright. Her purse bounced against her thigh and Katya hitched it higher onto her shoulder. She felt giddy, drunk off the festivities. Trixie’s enthusiasm was intoxicating and endearing and Katya felt herself getting lighter. She pulled Trixie closer to her, their lips close. 

“Are you coming up?” Katya asked, kissing Trixie lightly.

“Are you inviting me up?” Trixie pulled away, pocketing her keys.

“Yes,” Katya responded. She waited a beat, watching Trixie’s face break into a smile before turning and pulling Trixie towards the apartment building. 

Katya was fumbling with her front door, switching the orientation of the key before realizing she was using the wrong one. 

“God, I feel like a teenager,” Trixie said as she leaned against the wall, watching Katya unlock the door.

“Me too,” Katya held the door open, letting Trixie into her home for the second time that day. “Want anything to drink?”

“No, I can’t stay too long. I have an appointment very early in the morning,” Trixie slipped her shoes off, leaving them by the door as she walked into the living room. “I’m doing a touch up at 6 and I’m not looking forward to it.”

Trixie sat down on the couch, patting the seat next to her. 

Katya walked over, using each step to remind herself that this was happening. The day had been perfect, each moment better than the last. And now, Trixie was sitting on the couch, staring at Katya, a twinkle in her eye and Katya felt her insides melt. 

Trixie had been right when she said she felt like a teenager. Katya felt it too. The giddy feeling of doing something, for what felt like, the first time. Each time Trixie had laughed at one of Katya’s jokes, held her hand or moved to be closer to her, Katya could feel herself growing more confident. The fraud-like feeling of tricking Trixie into liking her subdued throughout the day and now Katya was lowering herself onto the couch, sitting to face Trixie. 

Trixie reached out and Katya winced at Trixie’s cold fingers on her cheek. Trixie was kissing her and Katya felt a light push on her shoulder. She followed the pressure, sitting properly on the couch, only to have Trixie follow her, swinging a leg over Katya’s thighs. 

Katya groaned at the weight of Trixie on her thighs and Trixie took advantage, kissing Katya deeper. Her hands were in Katya’s hair and Katya felt her fingers twitch as Trixie pulled gently, her fingers twisting even more into Katya’s roots. 

She let her hands explore the smooth skin of Trixie’s legs, rubbing circles from her ankles and following the bend of her knees and up into the hem of her skirt. Her fingertips played with the edge of Trixie’s panties, right along the curve of her ass, slipping under every now and again to play with the skin barely covered by the soft material. 

Their kissing was becoming more and more desperate and Katya had completely lost track of time. Instead the only thing that mattered was Trixie above her, panting in between kisses, twitching in what Katya hoped was anticipation. 

Katya fought with her self-restraint. She was blind with pure want and had to fight back the urge to push Trixie off, pull her into the bedroom and completely ravish her. 

_ She has to be up early and you’re not going to rush your first time fucking her.  _

Trixie pulled away only to lean forward and rest her head on Katya’s shoulder with a groan. Katya slid her hands out from underneath Trixie’s skirt, patting her ass two times before smoothing the fabric over her. 

“I have to go, but I don’t want to,” Trixie huffed as she sat back, swaying precariously on the edge of Katya’s knees. 

“I know,” Katya smiled at her as she reached up to tuck a stray curl behind Trixie’s ear. 

“Are you free for lunch on Wednesday?” Trixie asked. She played with the collar of Katya’s white t-shirt, pulling slightly before adjusting the shoulders.

“Yes,” Katya didn’t know, wasn’t sure of what her week actually looked like when it came to the specific meeting times. Everything was in her planner in her bedroom and the last thing she was concerned about. 

“I’ll meet you at your new shop?” Trixie asked as she slid off of Katya’s lap. She stood up and pulled at the hem of her skirt, pulling the skirt further down over her tattoo. She twisted back her sweater, smoothing it over her chest and watched Katya watch her. 

“Yeah, that works,” Katya replied, her throat dry and voice hoarse. 

“Okay,” Trixie nodded as she began to walk back to the front door. “Walk me out?”

*

Katya was standing in the doorway of her building, hiding her body from the breeze. Trixie had waited at the door after bouncing down the stairs, waiting for Katya to catch up. Katya had kissed her one last time, wishing her a safe drive home. 

“I’ll text ya when I’m home!” Trixie had called out as she unlocked her car door. 

Now Katya was watching her drive off, waving to her right before Trixie drove out of sight. She stood at the door for a second longer before lazily making her way back to her apartment with a goofy grin on her face.    
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lil spotify playlist that is currently under construction but you can find it, [here](https://open.spotify.com/user/94samantha.b/playlist/6lpQSzOlUHl588dWDLdUM4?si=E1gim4gkTkCsA5nMa3wuTg/)!
> 
> You can find me on tumblr [here](https://samwhambam.tumblr.com/)! I sometimes post lil sneak peeks to try to get myself into a writing mood. Come say hi and harass me!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 70 years later...
> 
> it's titty time! 
> 
> shoutout to my bff who read my whole fic just so she could beta this chapter even though she's not a trixya stan

Katya had slept like shit. She had been too happy when Trixie left to be anywhere near sleep. The giddiness had seeped from Trixie’s pores into Katya’s skin, and she bounced around after Trixie left, using the sudden burst of energy to clean the bits of her apartment she had hid from Trixie, then responding to the few random texts Trixie had sent. She washed the same dish twice, thinking through the date.

She started with how Trixie had looked on her doorstep, those white keds that had looked almost too clean. Then she blinked, and she was remembering later on when she had stepped back, not realizing Trixie was behind her and stepped lightly onto Trixie’s foot. She had stared into Trixie’s eyes, the fear of how big the mark was must’ve been prevalent on her face because Trixie just smiled and stepped on her clean shoe with her foot. When she moved, there were two matching stains on her shoes and she had grabbed Katya’s hand so confidently and led her down the street. 

Then Katya was spreading out her clean laundry on her living room floor, folding the wrinkled clothing, smoothing the fabric out with her hands as she replayed their first kiss over and over, watching the scene unfold on her eyelids when she closed her eyes to revel in the moment. This was long after Trixie had finally fallen asleep for the night, Katya’s phone still and dark. She could still feel the denim of Trixie’s jacket, hear the slight  _ clink  _ of the charms on her wrist as she moved to grip Katya’s forearm, keeping Katya from moving. Not like she was going to anyways. 

She climbed into bed after looking around her spotless apartment. She had considered watching tv, but she didn’t want to distract herself from her memories. For once, she wanted to hear the little voices in her head, pointing out the different ways Trixie had made her swoon. 

Katya brought back every detail of dinner, fixating on when Trixie had made a joke about John Wayne Gacy that had stunned Katya, caused her to look around them quickly, fully expecting to have a circle of people around them, quiet and staring at the horror that came out of Trixie’s mouth. When she looked to Trixie, Trixie’s face was frozen, her teeth digging into her bottom lip, eyes wide and nose scrunched and Katya knew that face. She had felt herself do it throughout the day. It was the look of panic at what you just did. The look of anxiety pulling at your skin.  _ Fear.  _

Then Katya laughed, because the joke had been funny. And then she laughed harder because Trixie was laughing, and she had realized fairly early in the night that one of them laughing started a chain reaction. She saw Trixie’s face before she hid it with her wine glass, taking a sip as Katya carved the small, hopeful smile into her brain. She worked quickly, punching the twinkle in Trixie’s eye into her nerve endings. That face was the last one she saw that night before sleep finally overtook her.

But then she was awake at 3 am, staring at the ceiling as she felt the phantom warmth of Trixie’s hands on her. She let herself get carried away, thinking about those hands lower, stroking her thighs, coaxing them open before running a finger against her, dipping past her labia. She could imagine the appreciative hum as Trixie experiences how her body moves during sex, how Katya’s body starts off soft, hardening as her muscles flex to keep herself from withering away from Trixie’s touch when the stimulation is too much. 

Katya touches herself until her eyelids are heavy and she’s back to sleep at 4. When she wakes up before her first alarm, she blinks slowly, the sun coming up behind her and she contemplates getting out of bed. But her room is cool, her blankets just the right weight on her and she decides to sleep. Then her first alarm is blaring, her phone too close to her pillow and she knows she has time to be late today. 

It wasn’t until Katya got to work that she got her first text of the day from Trixie. 

_ Do you think people would leave me alone if I took a nap on one of the tables? _

Katya laughed as she settled into her office chair. She shot off a response, turning her phone over as Ginger knocked on the door frame.

“You survived,” Ginger mocked as she walked in, settling into one of the chairs in front of the desk. She kicked one of the legs of the second chair, propping her feet up.

“Survived what?” Katya asked as she pursed her lips. She feigned innocence, cocking an eyebrow and hoping that for once, she could fake nonchalance. 

“Your date with Barbie.”

Katya couldn’t help the smile that pulled at her face. The edges of her lips were quickly softening, and she was afraid of just how dorky she looked. 

“I did survive.”

There was a silence as Ginger just stared. With each second that ticked by, Katya could feel Ginger’s eyes more intensely. They were boring holes into her skin, pushing the molecules aside to directly raise her blood pressure. 

“It was really good. I had a really good time. I have a huge crush on her and I think that I like her,” Katya continued. She wanted to recount the date to Ginger, tell her about how Trixie had had to slam on her brakes at one point, and she threw her arm out on instinct, bracing Katya as her chest slammed forward with the momentum. When Katya made contact with her chest, Trixie had pushed her back against the seat and after the both caught their breath, Trixie rubbed Katya’s forearm, asking her if she was okay. “I like her. We clicked.”

Ginger was smiling at her, still not moving.

“We made out at the end of the night. We already have plans for lunch,” Katya trailed off as her phone dinged. 

Ginger raised an eyebrow, nodding at the phone. 

Katya turned it over, smiling at the text. The phone dimmed and then she was tapping the screen, bringing it back to life.

_ You’re right. Pearl would for sure be the one to bug me. That stupid bitch.  _

When Katya looked back up to Ginger, there was another ding and a second message appeared. 

_ Let’s make out again soon. Like, tonight?  _

Before Katya could respond Trixie was typing.

_ Is that too forward? Because if so, you probably won’t like when I tell you that I really want to fuck you.  _

Katya laughed out loud, forgetting that Ginger was still there. 

_ It’s not too forward. I’m free tonight after dinner.  _ She shot back.  _ And I can sit here and pretend to feel scandalized, but I really want to get fucked by you and I want that to be very clear.  _

Katya put her phone down, biting back a smile as Ginger. Her phone went off again and she fought the urge to check it. 

“I’m excited for you,” Ginger slapped the arm rests of the chair before pushing herself up and off. “Make sure you’re using protection. Dental dams will protect her cooch from that disgusting mouth of yours.”

Then she was gone, her cackle echoing back into Katya’s office. She threw a pen out the door and into the hallway and Ginger laughed even louder. 

_ Okay perf _

The amount of emojis that followed were almost too much, but Katya memorized each one and smiled at how  _ Trixie  _ they were. 

*

Katya spent more time out in front than usual. Her to-do list was growing exponentially, but she couldn’t keep herself in her seat. Everytime she tried to focus she felt an itch travel along her skin. Ginger had even sent her out to run some errands, muttering about how Katya needed to run some laps, work off her energy.

She had even forced herself into a cafe, ordered a large iced coffee and settled into the biggest armchair she could find. She looked around at the crowd, hoping to shame herself into working. It worked, mostly. She had caught up on her emails, created her to do list for the next day and then she was back at the shop. 

Blair had humored her when Katya had struck up multiple conversations with her. She nodded in all the appropriate places as Katya explained the difference between blowing and core-forming glass. She told Katya about the animals her parents used to foster and she breathed a sigh of relief when Katya’s phone rang and she scurried back into her office. 

“Hey, you busy?” Trixie asked, the line crackling.

“Nope. Well, I should be, but I’m procrastinating,” Katya answered. She closed the door as she talked.

The screen flashed and then she was accepting Trixie’s facetime request. Katya smoothed her hair down, focusing on her reflection as the app loaded. Then Trixie was there, sucking on a straw with her hair piled up on her head. Her bangs were blowing every which way and Katya realized she was outside, in what looked like the alleyway behind their shops. 

“Hi!” Trixie exclaimed, bringing her drink away from her face. 

“Hi Trixie,” Katya said, propping her elbow on her desk. She tilted the phone down slightly, trying not to focus on her reflection. Not when Trixie was smiling at her.

“I only have a bit before I have to go in and get stuff ready for my next appointment,” Trixie bit scrunched her nose and Katya wanted to reach in, through the phone and press her fingertip against the deepest wrinkle. “But! I wanted to talk about last night.”

“Is that good or bad?” Katya laughed, tapping her foot against the side of her desk. 

“Good,” Trixie brought her straw back to her mouth, gripping it in between her teeth as she blushed. “Very good.”

Katya felt herself relax, her anxiety sliding down her bones and evaporating into her joints. She waited for Trixie to continue, to wax poetic about the day before so Katya could fully relax before she spilled her own guts about how great the day had been. 

“I had a lot of fun and think you’re great and can’t wait to see you again,” Trixie continued on in a single breath. “I did mean it earlier when I said I wanted to see you again tonight. If you’re free. I have a late evening, but I’ll be done around 7.”

“Works for me,” Katya smiled, hoping it came off as warm. 

“Okay, perfect,” Trixie ducked her head and then she was back in the frame. “I’m bringing this up now, because I’m sure later I won’t want to and the self sabotage is going to be real.”

She paused, her teeth barely visible in a shy smile. Katya felt herself melt into the chair, biting back a coo at Trixie’s expression. 

“I have another early morning tomorrow. I didn’t realize that I have 6 or 7 am appointments all week…” Trixie trailed off and Katya matched her expression of disdain. “So, I can’t stay long tonight, so I don’t want to have sex. Even though I know I’m really going to want to.”

“Okay,” Katya smiled. She started to lean back in her chair, but quickly sat back up once she saw her reflection in the phone.

“I know myself. I’m going to go in with slightly wholesome intentions and then take all my clothes off.” Trixie nodded, adamant in her self description. “But, this,”

Trixie paused to wave between them and Katya wanted to catch those fingers in hers. 

“I want to take my time,” Trixie finished and Katya found herself wanting. 

She wanted to scoop Trixie into her arms, take her into bed. She wanted her. She wanted to hold the hand Trixie spoke with. She wanted to hold her drink for her, watch her bite onto the straw in person, and then gently tug it free from her teeth. 

“I like what you’re thinking, but I can’t promise that I won’t try to take all of my own clothes off,” Katya retorted and Trixie laughed in response. Not her usual one, but the laugh Katya put in the category of “disbelief”. It was much softer, not a shriek but a short bark of laughter. 

“We’re fucked, aren’t we?” Trixie said softly, her eyes warm and Katya couldn’t look away. She could hear a door open on Trixie’s end. 

“Yeah, we are,” Katya’s response was even softer, just a whisper and she knew Trixie understood. 

Katya could see the awe in her eyes and she knew it was just mirroring what Katya was exhibiting.

She was fucked. There was a woman whose hair was more blonde and bigger than her own and she wanted Katya. Her jokes were even more crude, but her soft moments even softer and Katya wanted to laugh at herself. Berate herself for feeling so strongly after a few moments together. Trixie was a stranger. Even with the little secrets shared with each other, Trixie was a stranger. Trixie could murder her and Katya would have to shrug and say ‘ _ well, I didn’t see that coming, but I didn’t know her so maybe it’s completely in her character.’  _

Then Trixie was saying goodbye and Katya hung up. She sat in silence, letting herself just feel. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a crush, and she revelled in the giddiness. Trixie was a stranger but God, Katya was so into her. Trixie could murder her and at least she’d be happy right up until the end. 

Katya was ripped out of her trance when she heard her office door open.

“That was fucking disgusting,” Ginger said around gagging noises, and then she was gone and Katya was left shaking her head. 

*

When Katya got home, she ditched her bag, letting it fall onto one of her dining room chairs and curled up on her couch. Trixie had texted her again, asking for confirmation and Katya hoped that Trixie was just as nervous about the beginning of their relationship as she was. She was sitting in silence, reveling in the moment. Trixie was coming over. To spend time with her. To get to know her better. To make out with her. Katya felt inexplicably happy. 

_ I’m bringing a pizza. What do you want on it? _

Katya stared at her phone, contemplating her options. 

_ Down for veggie. Beware, I will pick off any red onions.  _

Another ding.

_ But will you still kiss me if I eat the onions? _

Katya bit back a smile, maneuvering her body so she had her feet flat on the couch, knees to her chest. 

_ That’s up for debate. _

The response was immediate. 

_ Well, I was on the debate team in high school, so I feel very prepared to win this one. _

She pressed her forehead to her knees, letting herself just  _ feel.  _ There was happiness nestled into the pit of her tummy. It started to bubble and Katya focused on the feeling. She pushed it up, into her chest,  inflating herself with happiness like a balloon, just waiting to pop. Or fly around the room.

_ Oh, I’m not going to try to win.  _ Katya sent back. 

Katya bolted up, taking a lap around the perimeter of her apartment. 

_ I’ll call when I get there?  _

And one lap wasn’t enough, she took a second. Then a third. On the fourth, she did a quick scan of the apartment, picking up any stray items she deemed unworthy of Trixie’s presence. On the fifth lap, she put everything back, feeling silly. One misplaced coaster wasn’t going to make Trixie realize Katya was a huge mistake. 

Katya lost track of time. Her phone rang and she jumped, stalking through her bedroom back into the living room. 

“Hi, I just parked,” Trixie said, her voice clear through the phone. 

“I’m on my way out.”

*

“Okay, you’re picking off the onions, olives and bell peppers. Why did you say veggie? You’re basically eating a cheese pizza. Could’ve saved you some trouble,” Trixie said as she popped one of Katya’s olives into her mouth. 

“Thought I’d want it,” Katya said around a mouthful of crust. She nudged Trixie’s leg with her foot. “Hey, easy on the onions.”

Trixie smirked, taking another bite of her slice before throwing it back onto the box, it slightly shifting along the coffee table. 

“Is this the part where we debate on the merits of making out after I ate all those onions?” Trixie smirked, taking the food out of Katya’s hands. Katya froze at the tone of Trixie’s voice.

“I have a spare toothbrush in the bathroom, if you need it,” Katya retorted as she grabbed onto Trixie’s belt loop, pulling her closer by the light blue material.

“Do you want me to brush my teeth?” Trixie was laughing, her eyes wide and then she was biting her lip, looking down at Katya with lidded eyes as she moved to straddle her legs. 

Katya straightened out her legs, Trixie shifting above her and they became comfortable. Katya grabbed Trixie’s hands, bringing them up and letting them drop onto her shoulders. 

“Don’t you dare get up,” Katya wrapped her arms around Trixie’s waist, holding her close. 

“Kiss me,” Trixie whispered, eyes flickering down to Katya’s lips. 

Katya leaned in, and as soon Trixie’s lips were there, so close, she leaned back, laughing at the pout Trixie was giving her. Then Katya felt hands in her hair, grabbing at her roots and she was being pulled to Trixie’s lips. They crashed together and Katya felt like she was drowning in Trixie. 

Trixie’s hair was still in her bun, and Katya’s hands felt around for the elastic, desperately wanting to run her fingers through the whole length of the curls. Katya barely registered Trixie letting go of her hair until her fingers snaked along Katya’s and she was pulling out her hair tie, her lips never leaving Katya’s. Trixie shuddered and then Katya was shaking her hair out, pulling back from the kiss to watch the way the frizzy curls fell to frame her face. She threaded her fingers through Trixie’s roots, the gritty feeling of too much dry shampoo grounded her and then she was pulling at knots, loosening them up and pulling the ends over Trixie’s shoulders. She chuckled at the sight of Trixie’s bangs and Trixie brushed at them with her fingers as if she could read Katya’s mind. 

Trixie shifted, kneeling above Katya. She leaned forward until their upper bodies were flush together and kissed her again and Katya wished they were lying down so she could push at Trixie, move and roll her over easily so she could position herself on top. Maybe push a knee in between Trixie’s legs, grind against her. But that wasn’t what tonight was for. 

Then Trixie was pulling Katya’s head back and down, angling her so she could take what she needed from Katya, and Katya needed Trixie wearing less clothes. She needed her without a shirt, needed to feel her bare skin against her, warming her up. Trixie only had one hand still in her hair and Katya felt the excitement bleeding through her skin as she tried to guess where Trixie was going to touch her. Fingertips pulled softly at the hem of Katya’s t-shirt and it skimmed up, gently, but just a little too much pressure and then Katya was wincing and Trixie’s fingers were off of her as quickly as they had found her.

“My nipples are still really sore,” Katya gasped as the uncomfortable throbbing in her nipple began to subside. 

“Sorry,” Trixie kissed Katya gently before sitting back again, kissing the tip of her own index finger and lightly touching Katya’s breast. 

“Above the belt stuff is fine for today, right?” Katya asked, her breathing short and ragged. “Cause I really wanna bury my face in those titties.”

Trixie laughed before she stood up, taking a few steps back from Katya. The slow heat that had started and spread throughout her body prickled at her as Trixie’s laughter died down. She was still infatuated with that laugh, and if she wasn’t trying to get a faceful of soft skin, she would’ve made a joke, said something stupid to keep the laugh going.

But Trixie was peeling her thin sweater up and over her head, the shirt underneath sticking in certain areas and Katya couldn’t help but stand up too, pulling at the shirt to help her out. Then she was standing there in a light pink lace bra with a small, silky bow in between her breasts and Katya sat back down. 

“I wore a cute bra today in hopes that this was going to happen, so I need you to look at it and appreciate it before I take it off and it goes on your floor,” Trixie smirked, her fingers coming up to trace around the edges. 

“You don’t have to put it on the floor,” Katya said as she leaned back, crossing her legs at the ankles.

“I love the way you tease me,” Trixie nodded. “You’re softly poking fun at me, and I don’t think you realize what you’re doing to me.”

Trixie reached behind herself, pushing her chest out and then she was sliding the straps down her arms and before Katya could appreciate every inch of her chest, she was moving. She placed the bra gently on the arm chair, looking at the pizza box in disdain as if the grease could travel that far.

And then she had one knee on the couch, pulling at Katya’s arms and with a smoothness that made Katya’s mouth water, Trixie pulled Katya down on top of her as she laid back and Katya marveled at the move. 

“How much longer can you stay?” Katya asked as they kissed, the words tumbling from her mouth into Trixie’s. 

“Responsibly? Another hour,” Trixie gasped as Katya kissed across her cheek, pressing the tip of her tongue to the edge of her earlobe, careful around the rough edges of her earrings. Katya felt Trixie’s breath hitch once she placed a biting kiss to the thin skin underneath Trixie’s ear, and she did it again and couldn’t help but moan when she felt Trixie’s body press more firmly against hers in response. 

She trailed her kisses down, taking her time to appreciate the pale skin laid out before her. It was littered with soft pink blotches and Katya couldn’t help run her fingertip over the visible veins. Trixie huffed a laugh as her fingertip brushed against her side, where the vein faded away into her ribcage. 

Katya smiled up at her, but then grimaced as she shifted and their jeans rubbed against each other. 

“Wait, I need to change into shorts. I hate denim rubbing against itself,” Katya pushed herself up and off of Trixie, already regretting putting the space between them. She avoided looking at Trixie, knowing that if she did and saw the halo of blonde hair around her head and the smudged dark pink lipstick, that she would just turn back around, take off her pants and have her way with her.

She changed in record timing, pulling on the silk sleep shorts she only wore when she wanted to be fancy. The ends of them poking out from underneath her long shirt. When she returned to the living room, Trixie had gotten up and was rooting through her cupboards. 

“Need help finding anything?” Katya asked as she came up behind Trixie, pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder. She tried to fight down the flare of irritation of Trixie snooping through her kitchen.

“Just a glass for water,” Trixie stepped away with a sheepish grin. “I thought I remembered where things were and didn’t want to bother you.”

Katya relaxed before smiling at Trixie, annoyed with herself for flaring up so quickly at something so trivial. She grabbed a glass for Trixie, filling it up for her and passing it over.

“It’s in the same cabinet as the plates,” Katya offered with a smirk.

“Oh, yeah, how did I forget they were by the plates?” 

*

“So what do you like on your pizza?” Trixie asked, as she picked up her previously abandoned slice. 

Katya shrugged as she thought. She picked at her crust. 

“I don’t usually get pizza. I like it, but it’s not my favorite,” Katya took a bite, ignoring the way that Trixie’s face contorted in pain. 

“You don’t like pizza?” The tone in her voice was incredulous, and her brows were furrowed in complete and utter disgust.

“I didn’t say that,” Katya pointed a finger at her. “What I said is that I don’t order it often. I usually just get cheese or pepperoni.”

“You’re a monster,” Trixie took a bite, still staring at Katya in horror. 

As she bit, a drip of sauce fell, straight onto her bare chest and Katya smirked as Trixie just stared. Then she dipped her head, avoiding the slice Trixie was still holding close to her face, and licked at the skin, sucking it into her mouth gently and letting go with a pop. She felt Trixie move, then heard the sound of a rough napkin tearing and then Trixie’s hands were in her hair, pushing and pulling her head in different directions. 

When she took a nipple into her mouth, she listened for any change in Trixie. When she didn’t sense anything, she scraped her teeth against the exposed bud, careful not to pull on Trixie’s jewelry and the moan that ripped its way through Trixie’s neck was worth any failed exploration. 

A whispered  _ ‘Katya’  _ dug into her brain, and she couldn’t think of anything else but drawing more gasps from Trixie in the 20 minutes they had left. 

When it was time to leave, Trixie pulled on her bra, turning her back to Katya before asking, “Can you clasp it for me?”

Katya wordlessly approached her, gently clasped it before smoothing the bra along her back. She pressed a kiss between Trixie’s shoulder blades, then tore herself away. 

Trixie was standing outside her doorway, lips completely bare of makeup and swollen. Her eyes were blown wide and the flush still heavy on her cheeks. Katya committed the look to memory, wanting to be able to pull it up and compare it to Trixie in an actual, post sex haze. 

“Things are about to get really busy at the store. We’re opening the new location a week from Friday, but I definitely want to see you more,” Katya said, leaning against her door frame. “If I’m a little hard to get a hold of, just know I’m trying my best.”

Trixie smiled at her.

“I’m also booked solid for the next three to four weeks, but I’ll definitely have my people call your people to set up lunch dates or facetime calls,” Trixie joked, and they both knew the other was trying to prolong the moment. 

“I swear, if Pearl calls me, we’re done with whatever this is,” Katya threatened and Trixie laughed her sweet, obnoxious laugh that had Katya buzzing. 

“Okay, then, I’ll make all the calls,” Trixie stepped forward.

“That’s better.”

Katya accepted the kiss, Trixie’s lips sweet against hers. When she stepped back, Katya could see the wonder on Trixie’s face and knew it was mirroring what was present in her own. 

“Goodnight, Katya.”

“Goodbye, Trixie.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can reach out to me on tumblr [here](https://samwhambam.tumblr.com/)!


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